Messi983
Senior Member
Oh, of course. Not saying this is ideal XI longterm. There is still a lot of work to be done but we would be moving in the right direction.
Haaland could probably be the right man for that X Factor you've mentioned but we won't get him. Ansu could potentially also grow into that role but injuries are obviously a big obstacle on his way.
But anyway, even if we make all the right moves from now on (which I don't think it's likely as every club makes mistake on the transfer market but at least don't make any major feckups like bringing back Neymar or Messi - they are both important part of our history but they should stay there - we should move forward not look back) I still don't expect us to become an European powerhouse inside next 2-3 years. We should clearly be more competitive with top teams like Bayern than we were in recent years but will likely stay some way short of winning the CL. Barca is not one of those clubs who can win CL "luckily" like Madrid or Chelsea. We're either the best/most dominant team that season or we don't win it.
But before thinking about CL we should focus on winning domestically which ofc won't be easy if Madrid really gets both KM and EH although even in that case I think they will still dearly miss likes of Benz and Modrić when they'll inevitably left. It's one thing to replace quality old players with talented youngsters, it's another thing for them to compensate for the loss of a wealthy experience, leadership and winning mentality of those veterans.
We already moved past Messi and as tough as last summer was looking back I think it was the right move. Of course we'll never be able to replace his quality individually so we should strive to improve as a team and build a system that won't be dependent on one player as much. I think Xavi is doing his best work towards that. I don't think he only wants a strong XI but also good depth with a lot of versatility and flexibility. That's why I support signing Kessie who won't be a fixed starter but should add something new to the team.
And when we'll move on from Pique and Busi it should also be easier to replace them imo. Yes, they are playing better under Xavi but have been underpeforming for years before that unlike Karim or Modrić who are still consistently playing on a very good to great leavel, also in big European games which our veterans (including Messi) mostly haven't done for years.
