3. Barcelona
Appeal: Champions League, possible extended success.
Negatives: New manager and adapting to Barcelona system. Barcelona need to win the league this season after Mourinho's Madrid triumphed last year and spelled the end of Pep Guardiola's time in charge of the club, and though they will have David Villa returning from long0term injury and Leonel Messi once more free to terrorise La Liga defences, Barcelona were a little light on options up top last year. If Villa fails to come back as strongly, or Messi unthinkably suffers a drop in form, Barcelona will need other options, especially with Real Madrid now in the ascendancy. Like Spain, Barcelona occasionally lacked a killer instinct (an odd thing to say considering Messi scored 50 league goals last term), but only in terms of a conventional striker. While that isn't necessarily a problem in the league, with teams often bowled over completely by the sheer tide of passing, the lack of a conventional centre-forward (other than Villa) in Europe can be a problem, as Barca found when they faced a dogged Chelsea last season. Whether Van Persie could find a way into the system would be a matter for debate, with his particular skills probably more suited to a more direct team, but if the team and player could come to some compromise that added Van Persie's goals to the team's style and the goals of Messi, they would be some force to be reckoned with both domestically and in Europe.