We all love summer holidays, but the scent of sunscreen and ice cream never lasts forever. Fear not: as summer draws to a close, it can only mean one thing - the football season is back.
And what better way for a Barcelona fan to kick things off than with our writers’ predictions for the year ahead? Who will lift the trophies? Who will shine brightest on the biggest stage?
Where will Barcelona finish in La Liga?
James Fudge (JF): Campiones again for Balugrana as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will provide close competition with Barcelona winning it in the final gameweek.
Jason Reyes (JR) : I believe that Barcelona will repeat as champions of La Liga. Barcelona were the best team in the league last year and they improved heading into the new season. The signings of Joan Garcia and Rashford solidify some of the weakness the team had last year with Joan being a significant upgrade on the goalkeeper position and Rashford bring the attacking depth and extra width option the team needed last season. Additionally, Barca’s rivals for the trophy haven’t improved to the extent to beat out Barca for the title.
How far will they go in the Champions League?
JF: Make it to the final - one step closer this year, however I see them coming up against an English team (Liverpool or Manchester City) who will be too strong. Tiredness may play a part as competing in all competitions to the end will play its part.
JR: Again, I believe that Barcelona will win the Champions League for the first time since 2015. This one is trickier as there are teams like Liverpool and PSG that are very strong contenders this year. You also have teams like Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern that are always in the mix but I believe Barcelona simply have better players and an elite manager. Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Raphinha all have strong cases to be the best in the world in their positions and Lamine has a claim of being the best player in the world.
Along with those players you have Cubarsi, Lewandowski, Balde, De Jong, and Kounde that can be considered world class or close in their respective positions. Add to that an elite manager in Hansi Flick, and you have a recipe for Champions League success.
Who will be the Player of the Season?
JF: Lamine Yamal will be the obvious choice for Player of the Season, as I expect him to average a goal involvement per game. Raphinha could come close again, with his quality likely to shine through just as it did last year.
JR: Lamine Yamal will continue to improve and get the stats necessary to put to rest who the best player in the world is. You could see his finishing improving towards the end of the season and in preseason and I expect this to be the norm and not just a purple patch. His dribbling and playmaking alone make him one of the best in the world but a bit more scoring and he’ll very clearly be the player of the season.
Who will be the Top Goalscorer?
JF: Lamine Yamal again for me. His goal against Como shows he’s ready to add that side of his game plus he’s looking more goal hungry/selfish in the pre-season fixtures, which is a good thing.
JR: My top scorer pick may shock some people, but I’m picking Raphinha to be Barca’s top goalscorer this season. In La Liga I expect Mbappe to repeat as he’s in his prime goalscoring years, and in all of Europe I would pick Haaland as he will be looking to reach the levels of his first season with Manchester City. Back to Barcelona though, I see Lewandowski having less minutes this year with rest and injury as he continues to age. Someone will pick up the slack and my prime candidate to do that is Raphinha who has become a goalscoring machine under Flick and I could see him improving on his tally from last season with an additional playmaker like Rashford coming in to the team.
Who will win the Ballon d’Or?
JF: Not a Barcelona player, unfortunately, but still a strong link, former winger Ousmane Dembélé is my pick to win it this year, with Yamal and Raphinha finishing second and third respectively. I also think Barcelona Femení will miss out, with an England and Arsenal star taking that honour. As for the Kopa Trophy, I’m backing Yamal to come out on top.
JR: My personal choice would be Lamine Yamal but I believe Ousmane Dembele will win it this year. He’s a very worthy winner as he’s had a standout 2025 leading PSG to its first ever Champions League title and a historic treble. His goal scoring and playmaking has turned a once underachieving super talent to fulfilling his potential and being a Ballon d’Or favorite.
Lamine Yamal will win the Ballon d’Or in the following season. He’s going to at minimum be on the podium this year, and I’ve predicted him to continue to improve while also believing that Barcelona get a league and Champions League double, it’s clear that Lamine would be my favorite to win the award.