Being arguably the best team in the world means Gerardo Tata Martino's Barcelona are there to be shot at. The all-conquering tiki-taka style has brought Barca success on a scale that makes any other club side envious. Just ask El Clasico rivals Real Madrid. Barcelona set the pace yet again in the Spanish La Liga this term with an unbeaten run of nine wins and a draw. That domestic dominance has seldom been seriously challenged. In Europe, however, they have been upstaged by first Chelsea and then Bayern Munich in the last two campaigns. Getting to the Champions League semi-finals, the stage the Catalan giants have always reached since last lifting the European Cup in 2011, would be seen by most teams as an achievement. At the Nou Camp it is seen as failure. We saw evidence at the Confederations Cup this past summer that the legs of Spain and Barca playmaker Xavi were fading. Club captain Carles Puyol is even older and just returning to defence from a serious injury. Barcelona often look to bring academy players through to replace one great generation with another, but are also not averse to dipping into the market. We look at five players you might see on their books in the near future.
Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.
