Xavi says Barcelona are "very optimistic" that their new signings will be registered, but they may not all be given the green light for their first match of the LaLiga season against Rayo Vallecano.
Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have arrived at Camp Nou since the end of last season, but there is uncertainty over whether they will be able to make their competitive debuts on Saturday.
The Catalan giants have been busy trying to raise funds in order to meet LaLiga's salary limits ahead of the season and activated a fourth economic lever on Friday.
Barca sold a further 24.5 per cent of their production company for €100million, having also agreed a hugely lucrative sponsorship deal with Spotify and sold a percentage of LaLiga broadcast rights,
They have been able to lower their wage bill by offloading players and more could follow, with Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reportedly targets for Chelsea.
Blaugrana head coach Xavi says he is prepared for the possibility that some of his new men may not be eligible to play this weekend.
He told reporters: "We are working hard and everyone at the club is very positive. Maybe not 100 per cent, but we are optimistic. We'll see. The club has signed very well, I am very excited about the players we have signed. We have time until tomorrow and now we are very optimistic."
Xavi maintained his plans for the opening match of the season have not been badly disrupted by being unsure over who will be available.
He said: "It has little influence, as at the end of the day we work on different systems, different variants. Either one or the other players, very few things change.
"We pretty much have two players for each position. We work the same, we don't have a different system with the way we play in attack. Not a lot varies and I insist that right now we are very optimistic of registering the players."
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva and Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso continue to be linked with Barca, with just under three weeks before the transfer window closes.
A deal to sign Alonso is reported to have been agreed and Xavi made it clear he is eager to do further business.
"We are still planning ahead, that's a reality," the former Spain midfielder said. "We are going to see what we are going to do until August 31.
"Of course, we need to have players leave in order for others to come, but the transfer market is open until the 31st and there is work to be done for all of us. We'll see."
Xavi also revealed he wanted Nico Gonzalez to stay rather than join Valencia on loan for the season, adding: "[Nico] came to me three weeks ago. I insisted that he continue because he would have minutes. I like Nico.
"But a few days ago he came back and told me that there was a team where he would play. He has been brave and is going to Valencia.
"I hope he comes back more mature because it must be important for the future of Barca. For the midfield we have [Sergio] Busquets, [Miralem] Pjanic, Kessie, Frenkie, Sergi Roberto, and even Christensen, who can play there."
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has made the decision to postpone Lyon's Ligue 1 trip to Lorient on Sunday owing to an unsafe pitch at the latter's home ground.
The two sides were due to play their second league match of the new season, having got their campaigns underway last weekend.
But the LFP has elected to delay the encounter after a pitch inspection at Stade du Moustoir deemed the surface to possess a risk to the welfare of both teams.
"The LFP Competitions Committee decided on Friday to postpone the match between FC Lorient and Olympique Lyonnais to a later date," read an official statement.
"The commission noted that the current state of the pitch at Stade du Moustoir did not ensure the safety of the players. As a result, the LFP Competitions Committee decided to postpone the meeting."
Reports suggest that both the ongoing heatwave and drought across Western Europe, coupled with the ground playing host to events for the Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient contributed to the poor conditions.
Both teams kicked off their campaign with a win last weekend, as Lyon defeated Ajaccio and Lorient scored a surprise victory over Rennes.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has named a majority locally based squad for the country’s upcoming three-game mini tournament in Austria.
The football competition, which will take place at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, has been put on by Qatar as part of their preparations for the FIFA World Cup later this year.
In addition to Qatar, the Reggae will be joined at the tournament by Morocco and African nation Ghana, who will also be making an appearance in Qatar for the global football showpiece.
Of the 27 players named in the Jamaica squad, 20 ply their trade in the country’s local league. The exceptions are experienced defender Adrian Mariappa who will join from Australia’s McArthur FC, Jevani Brown who represents EFL League One club Exeter City, Oquassa Chong (Esbjerb fb), Venton Evans (Greenville Triumph) Damani Osei
(Santa Clara), Jourdain Fletcher (Gokulam Kerala) and Maliek Howell (University of Memphis).
The Reggae Boyz will tackle Ghana on August 20, followed by matches against Morocco on the 23rd and Qatar on the 26th. The team will be coached by Merron Gordon who will be assisted by Vassell Reynolds.
Full squad
Kemar Foster Waterhouse FC
Amal Knight Harbour View FC
Eric Edwards Arnett Gardens FC
Colorado Murray Harbour View FC
Trayvone Reid Harbour View FC
Ricardo Thomas Waterhouse FC
Ky-Mani Campbell Waterhouse FC
Richard King Cavalier SC
Denardo Thomas Waterhouse FC
Demario Phillips Dunbeholden FC
Fabion McCarthy Dunbeholden FC
Nickoy Christian Dunbeholden FC
Ramone Howell Waterhouse FC
Ronaldo Webster Cavalier SC
Jourdain Fletcher Gokulam Kerala
Maliek Howell University of Memphis
Earl Simpson Arnett Gardens FC
Odane Pennycooke Tivoli Gardens FC
Tarick Ximines Mount Pleasant FC
Alwayne Harvey Mount Pleasant FC
Adrian Marriapa. McAuthur FC
Damani Osei. Santa Clara Broncos
Shamari Dyer Harbour View
Oquassa Chong Esbjerb fb
Venton Evans Greenville Triumph
Jevani Brown Exeter City
Nicholas Hamilton Harbour View FC
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has made the decision to postpone Lyon's Ligue 1 trip to Lorient on Sunday owing to an unsafe pitch at the latter's home ground.
The two sides were due to play their second league match of the new season, having got their campaigns underway last weekend.
But the LFP has elected to delay the encounter after a pitch inspection at Stade du Moustoir deemed the surface to possess a risk to the welfare of both teams.
"The LFP Competitions Committee decided on Friday to postpone the match between FC Lorient and Olympique Lyonnais to a later date," read an official statement.
"The commission noted that the current state of the pitch at Stade du Moustoir did not ensure the safety of the players. As a result, the LFP Competitions Committee decided to postpone the meeting."
Reports suggest that both the ongoing heatwave and drought across Western Europe, coupled with the ground playing host to events for the Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient contributed to the poor conditions.
Both teams kicked off their campaign with a win last weekend, as Lyon defeated Ajaccio and Lorient scored a surprise victory over Rennes.
Stefano Pioli says Milan will "not back down" in the transfer market as they eye further reinforcements ahead of a "special" season.
The Serie A champions reportedly paid €36million to sign attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge, and also brought in striker Divock Origi on a free transfer after his Liverpool contract expired.
But it has been a quiet transfer window for the Rossoneri after they ended an 11-year wait to win the Scudetto in May.
Milan start the defence of their title against Udinese at San Siro on Saturday and head coach Pioli hopes to have more new faces on board by the time the transfer window closes on September 1.
He told reporters on Friday: "I am very happy and delighted with who has arrived. If there is a chance to improve the squad, we will not back down."
Pioli added: "The transfer market can offer you situations that you may not have thought of until now. If there is the possibility the squad will be improved; different characteristics may be needed from those we have."
Such a hectic schedule due to the World Cup in Qatar will provide further challenges, but Pioli is relishing another title battle.
He said: "It will be a special season. Today I showed the team the whole calendar until November 13 and many will have 23-24 games in 90 days.
"I will need everyone available. In three months we will have already played a lot: we play 15 league games, the Champions League...
"It will be a very balanced championship and I think it will be difficult for everyone to improve the standard of the last championship. All the top eight are at a high level, the mid-table ones have grown. It will be a good fight."
Simone Inzaghi emphasised the importance of Inter keeping their squad together on the eve of the new Serie A campaign, as he revealed the Nerazzurri are not targeting multiple new additions.
Inter missed out on the Serie A title to rivals Milan by just two points in Inzaghi's first campaign at the helm in 2021-22, but have been tipped to regain the Scudetto after bringing in the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Andre Onana.
Meanwhile, despite Paris Saint-Germain being linked with Milan Skriniar and Chelsea touted as a possible destination for Denzel Dumfries and Alessandro Bastoni, the Nerazzurri have retained the services of other key players.
And Inzaghi is keen to ensure things remain that way, as he said a replacement for defensive back-up Andrea Rannocchia – who has joined Monza – is Inter's only transfer target.
"The team is the one that I have agreed with the company and the owners," he told a news conference ahead of Inter's Serie A opener at Lecce.
"The team will be this, we are missing a player to replace Ranocchia, the company is working on this and I think I don't have to talk about it anymore.
"The incoming and outgoing market is closed."
Lukaku's return on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea represents one of the biggest acquisitions made by any Serie A team during the off-season, after he fired them to the 2020-21 Scudetto with 24 league goals.
Upon his San Siro comeback, Lukaku will be expected to rekindle a fearsome partnership with Lautaro Martinez after they created 29 chances for one another – eight resulting in goals – during the Belgian's last season at Inter.
Inzaghi also has the likes of Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa to call upon as attacking options, and is pleased with the way the 29-year-old has settled back in to the Nerazzurri frontline.
"Lukaku works as well as the others, he's been out for a year, he's trying to integrate as best he can with everyone," Inzaghi added.
"He's not new here, I'm very happy with him, Dzeko, Lautaro and Correa.
"On [departing forwards Alexis] Sanchez and [Andrea] Pinamonti, we made some choices focusing on these four, who give me great guarantees.
"Tomorrow, a difficult championship starts again where many teams will fight to win like us. They have strengthened a lot, my focus is only on Lecce.
"They are a newly promoted team who will have support and enthusiasm, it will take a real match from Inter to be able to win.
"It must be another great year, Inter have a duty to aspire to the maximum. The team is unchanged: we lost [Ivan] Perisic who was very important, but he made other choices. We brought back Lukaku, we took functional players.
"The opponents made many purchases, investing a lot, but they know that Inter will be on their way."
Marcus Rashford is "really important" to Manchester United and the forward is very much in their plans amid reported transfer interest from Paris Saint-Germain, says Erik ten Hag.
The 24-year-old struggled during a tepid 2021-22 campaign at Old Trafford, losing his place in the England set-up and mustering just four goals in 25 league appearances.
Reports have since emerged that he could make a fresh start across the English Channel with Ligue 1 heavyweights PSG.
But speaking ahead of a trip to Brentford this weekend, Ten Hag insists he regards Rashford as a key member of his squad this term.
"He is really important," Ten Hag said. "You have seen from the first day I am here [that] I am really happy with him.
"I do not want to lose him. He is definitely in our plans at Manchester United."
Ten Hag also addressed Cristiano Ronaldo's involvement after the Portugal star was benched for their opening weekend loss to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The veteran forward missed much of pre-season amid reports he is seeking an exit to find Champions League football, though a lack of credible suitors may well have put the brakes on a move.
"He has had a good training week," the Dutchman added. "He has had two half games now. We will see tomorrow."
Defeat to Brighton represented a major blow to hopes Ten Hag will re-establish United as genuine contenders for the top four this term, but the former Ajax man is unworried by a slow start from his side.
"After every game, I analyse what went wrong and where we can improve, where we have to improve, and how we have to train," he added.
"We tell and show the players this too, to give them the solutions. We learnt a lot [from the first game] but it is normal when you start a season, every season in that part is the same.
"You have a new start, you make mistakes. Football is a game of mistakes, so we know we have to improve in many factors."
Juventus have announced the arrival of wing-back Filip Kostic from Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-year deal, with the 29-year-old reportedly commanding a fee of €16million including add-ons.
Kostic, a key player in Eintracht's Europa League triumph last season, was absent from Oliver Glasner's squad as they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in the Super Cup on Wednesday.
Glasner declared the Serbia international would leave the Bundesliga club "as a hero" ahead of that match, before Kostic posted a heartfelt message to Eintracht's fans on Instagram.
After Kostic underwent a medical with Juventus on Thursday, he has been revealed as their latest addition of a busy transfer window, following the acquisitions of Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria and Gleison Bremer.
A statement on Juventus' website read: "A player possessed of talent, strength and speed, able to cover the entire flank. The naturally left-footed wide player has shown over the years that he can play in every area of the pitch, but prefers to throw himself in attack, dishing [out] assists when required.
"The above presentation is basically the football identity card of Filip Kostic, the 29-year-old Serb who is now a Juventus player, having signed a contract that ties him to the club until June 2026."
Kostic, who joined Eintracht in 2018, scored seven goals and added 13 assists from his role as a flying left wing-back last season (in all competitions), also creating 112 chances for the side – almost double the highest tally managed by any of his team-mates (Jesper Lindstom created 57).
The 29-year-old will hope to be involved when Juventus host Sassuolo in their opening match of the new Serie A campaign on Monday.
Julian Nagelsmann has revealed Leroy Sane is unhappy with his lack of game time at Bayern Munich, but the coach sees no reason to change his team following a flying start to the Bundesliga season.
Nagelsmann's side have begun his second season at the helm in stunning fashion, beating RB Leipzig 5-3 in a thrilling DFL-Supercup before racing to a 6-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in their Bundesliga opener last week.
Bayern were 5-0 up before half-time as they tore the Europa League winners apart last Friday, the biggest half-time lead a team have ever had in their opening Bundesliga game, while only one side have ever netted more than their six goals on matchday one – also Bayern in an 8-0 thrashing of Schalke in 2020.
The Bundesliga champions' terrific start was made all the more impressive by the strength of their bench, with Sane and Matthijs de Ligt restricted to roles as second-half substitutes.
Sane, who went on to assist Bayern's sixth goal, has been linked with a move to Manchester United as Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane start in Nagelsmann's attack, yet the coach is not concerned.
"I don't see any reason to change anything. We're still in the kind phase of the season, so you don't have to make big changes," he told a news conference ahead of Sunday's clash with Wolfsburg.
On Sane, he added: "He is not satisfied that he does not start. Others are doing better, like Jamal Musiala recently.
"He needs to impose himself in training. He handles it well."
Mane has quickly made his mark, scoring 29 minutes into his Bundesliga debut and finishing the first weekend with the joint-most sprints (39) across the division, showing his seamless adaptation to Bayern's high-energy approach.
"He's very humble, an extreme team player who lets others shine," Nagelsmann said of the former Liverpool forward. "When dealing with him, you don't realise that he's a superstar. That makes it comfortable with him."
Meanwhile, Leon Goretzka has missed out entirely for Bayern so far this season, having undergone knee surgery ahead of a pre-season tour of the United States in July.
The Germany midfielder only made 19 Bundesliga appearances during a troubled 2021-22 campaign, but Nagelsmann revealed his recovery is progressing nicely.
"He's done some running but will need a bit longer before he can join team training," Nagelsmann said.
"I will give him all the time he needs. The knee hasn't reacted badly at all, and the healing process is going better than we'd expected."
Barcelona have activated a fourth economic lever in a bid to ensure their new signings can be registered for LaLiga, announcing the sale of a further 24.5 per cent of their production company for €100million.
The Catalan giants, who have signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie despite ongoing financial troubles, have reportedly failed to register their new acquisitions for the upcoming league campaign.
President Joan Laporta has been working to raise funds to allow Barca to meet LaLiga's salary limits ahead of the season, and said last week the club had made a "great effort" to do so.
Last month, 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios was sold to the company Socios.com for €100million, while the Blaugrana have also sold 10 per cent of their LaLiga broadcasting rights to American investment firm Sixth Street, among other measures.
But with reports suggesting the club were still struggling to meet LaLiga's rules, they have announced a second deal for an equivalent stake in Barca Studios.
"FC Barcelona announces the sale of 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios to the company Orpheus Media, managed by Mr Jaume Roures, an audiovisual production company with a long history of producing content, for 100 million euros," read a club statement.
"The agreement complements the one signed on 29 July with Socios.com and will help to accelerate the growth of the club's digital, NFT and Web.3 strategy.
"With this investment the strategic partners in Barca Studios show confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport."
Reports suggest that while Barca are prioritising the registration of their new signings, they are still eyeing a move for Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva has been touted as another target.
Barca begin their LaLiga campaign when they host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, though it remains to be seen how many of their new stars can feature.
Barcelona have activated a fourth economic lever in a bid to ensure their new signings can be registered for LaLiga, announcing the sale of a further 24.5 per cent of their production company for €100million.
The Catalan giants, who have signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie despite ongoing financial troubles, have reportedly failed to register their new acquisitions for the upcoming league campaign.
President Joan Laporta has been working to raise funds to allow Barca to meet LaLiga's salary limits ahead of the season, and said last week the club had made a "great effort" to do so.
Last month, 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios was sold to the company Socios.com for €100million, while the Blaugrana have also sold 10 per cent of their LaLiga broadcasting rights to American investment firm Sixth Street, among other measures.
But with reports suggesting the club were still struggling to meet LaLiga's rules, they have announced a second deal for an equivalent stake in Barca Studios.
"FC Barcelona announces the sale of 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios to the company Orpheus Media, managed by Mr Jaume Roures, an audiovisual production company with a long history of producing content, for 100 million euros," read a club statement.
"The agreement complements the one signed on 29 July with Socios.com and will help to accelerate the growth of the club's digital, NFT and Web.3 strategy.
"With this investment the strategic partners in Barca Studios show confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport."
Reports suggest that while Barca are prioritising the registration of their new signings, they are still eyeing a move for Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva has been touted as another target.
Barca begin their LaLiga campaign when they host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, though it remains to be seen how many of their new stars can feature.
As their Serie A rivals attempt to turn back time, champions Milan are looking to the future.
Romelu Lukaku, Inter's 2020-21 Scudetto hero, and Paul Pogba, the winner of four straight championships at Juventus, have returned to their former clubs following ultimately unsuccessful Premier League stints.
Of course, this is a move that worked for Milan last season, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic had played for three different clubs in three different countries between featuring in the Rossoneri's two most recent title-winning campaigns.
Ibrahimovic, soon to turn 41, has signed up for another season, but there is a young, exciting core to the Milan team who secured that latest title and will now bid to defend it.
Young stars repay Pioli's faith
Milan had the fourth-youngest average age of their starters in Serie A last season (25y 337d), older only than Empoli (24y 325d), Spezia (24y 334d) and Torino (25y 189d).
And this average was dragged up significantly by Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud.
Among the 10 outfield players to start 20 or more league games for Milan in 2021-22, nine were below that average age at the end of the season, with Giroud (35y 233d) the exception.
Giroud scored 11 goals, including two the day the Rossoneri won the title at Sassuolo, but even he made only 22 starts as Stefano Pioli showed faith in his young charges.
Pierre Kalulu (21 starts) was 21 on the final day; Rafael Leao (31 starts), Sandro Tonali (31 starts), Brahim Diaz (25 starts) and Alexis Saelemaekers (22 starts) were all 22; Theo Hernandez (30 starts) and Fikayo Tomori (30 starts) were both 24; and the now departed Franck Kessie (25 starts) was 25, along with Davide Calabria (24 starts).
Of those, only Diaz was not in the XI at Sassuolo, with the 28-year-old Rade Krunic preferred.
That this young Milan side held their nerve on that day – needing to avoid defeat to ensure they could not be pipped at the post by Inter – justified Pioli's approach, and the club have seemingly sought to get even younger ahead of their title defence.
Milan boosted by Belgium pair
Realistically, given the financial power of other clubs across Europe, Milan have had little choice but to pay for potential rather than proven performers.
Yet their early moves in this close season sought to find a blend of the two, as Milan honed in on two stars of Lille's shock 2020-21 Ligue 1 title success.
Centre-back Sven Botman, only 22, was a favourite of Paolo Maldini, while Renato Sanches, 24, appeared a good fit for a midfield set to be robbed of Kessie following his move to Barcelona as a free agent.
Unfortunately, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain – backed by Saudi Arabia's PIF and Qatar's QSI respectively – outmuscled Milan in both cases.
Instead, Kalulu could be set to start again alongside Tomori, and Tommaso Pobega, returning from a loan at Torino and now 23, is a likely replacement for Kessie.
Milan have preferred to focus their limited budget on the attack, successfully holding off rival interest to sign Charles De Ketelaere.
The Belgium international, who turned 21 in March, contributed 14 goals and nine assists in 39 First Division A matches for Club Brugge last term.
De Ketelaere was the second-youngest player in the Belgian top flight to tally at least five goals and five assists for the season – after Anderlecht's Bayern Munich loanee Joshua Zirkzee (16 goals, nine assists).
He will now link up with Leao (11 goals, eight assists), who was the second-youngest to achieve that feat in Serie A in 2021-22 – after Sassuolo's Giacomo Raspadori (10 goals, five assists).
Even De Ketelaere's Belgium team-mate Divock Origi – another new forward signing, set to become Milan's latest experienced option up front – is only 27.
Still young, now experienced
The signing of Origi, an elder statesman in the Milan dressing room, would actually have made Serie A rivals Juventus (27y 319d) and Inter (29y 73d) younger.
Indeed, Inter were the third-oldest team in Serie A last season – after Sampdoria (29y 212d) and Lazio (29y 217d) – with their squad already in need of regeneration a year after winning the Scudetto.
There is no danger of Milan being in the same position, with their young side getting younger and extending their window in which they can expect to contend for further titles.
The Rossoneri were comfortably the youngest champions across Europe's top five leagues last season, with Champions League victors Real Madrid (28y 95d) the oldest.
Milan's title winners will undoubtedly benefit from their 2021-22 experiences, too.
Leao (85), Tonali (60), Diaz (47), Saelemaekers (45), Tomori (34) and Kalulu (13) had each played comfortably fewer than 100 games in Europe's top five leagues heading into the previous campaign. Kalulu had tallied a mere 727 minutes prior to his breakout year.
In the Champions League, they were even greener. Besides Giroud, who had played 41 games and started 25, those nine other Serie A regulars had made just 11 combined appearances and five combined starts in Europe's elite club competition up to that point.
Milan's European campaign did not pan out as they would have hoped, losing their first three group stage matches and finishing bottom of the table in a punishing pool, but there was a dramatic away win at Atletico Madrid, and the Rossoneri twice took the game to eventual finalists Liverpool.
There may be departures along the way – and Milan will hope to receive a fee, unlike in Kessie's case – but this team should continue to grow together.
If Milan's players progress as they have done so far, there will be plenty more title challenges – and perhaps even a tilt at an eighth European crown soon enough.
Barcelona fans may have completely forgotten there will be actual football to play very soon.
So chaotic and draining has the off-season been for Barca supporters that they'd be forgiven for thinking they were stuck in some form of purgatory, where the club's finances are discussed and debated endlessly.
In fairness, even those who don't necessarily support Barca may have similar feelings. If you've been following the soap opera in recent weeks and months, you'll already be sick to death of the word palanca, or 'lever'.
Of course, those proverbial levers are what president Joan Laporta has been pulling to inject capital. Barca were expected to work within another measly LaLiga salary limit this season before selling off some of their TV rights at the end of the last financial year, which meant they actually turned a profit.
With the other 'levers' Laporta has activated, he claims the club has brought in €860million in two months, but obviously the deals involved will result in reduced long-term income, hence the widespread suggestions Barca are "mortgaging their future".
It's probably an understatement to say there has been a lot to take in, and that's before we even mention the Frenkie de Jong sideshow, the signings and the latest concerns about whether their new players can even be registered.
In the background, Xavi continues to plug away and drown out all the nonsense surrounding the club, and on the pitch, there are genuine reasons for optimism at Camp Nou.
A platform of rapid improvement
There was a time last season – even after Xavi's November appointment – when Barca's campaign looked to be heading for embarrassment.
After a 1-0 defeat to Real Betis in December, Barca had 23 points from their first 16 matches of the league season, their worst total at that stage since 2002-03.
But the same team – plus a few January additions – claimed more points (45) in LaLiga than any other club after the turn of the year. Sure, Real Madrid played one game less over the same period, but even if they had contested an extra match and won, Los Blancos would still have been two points shy.
Of course, Madrid's focus towards the end was on the Champions League as they never looked likely to throw the title away, so it's probably not the perfect comparison, but it does at least highlight the results Xavi was getting and the degree of the turnaround he has already overseen at Camp Nou.
Similarly, there were signs of classic Barca in their performances. Their 9.4 high turnovers per game was a LaLiga high after Xavi's appointment, while they also boasted the greatest average share of possession (64 per cent).
Perhaps the biggest indicator of Barca's promise under Xavi was the 4-0 hammering of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in March's Clasico. They had lost their previous five such clashes, including four in the league, making it the Blaugrana's worst run against their bitter rivals since the 1960s.
Barca were electric going forward, carving through Madrid almost at will, while they also looked solid defensively, with Xavi's decision to play Ronald Araujo at right-back proving wise as he kept Vinicius Junior in check.
Gerard Pique responded by declaring: "We are back."
Playing the part
The improvement Xavi instigated last season was made even more impressive by the fact certain players didn't have an especially prominent role.
Pedri made just 12 appearances in the league, while Ansu Fati recorded 10. Both were hampered by serious injuries but will in all likelihood – assuming they stay fit – be key players this season.
Pedri will be the vital midfield conductor, keeping the build-up play ticking over, while Fati can provide both goals and creativity from out wide on the left. As clichéd as it sounds, the Spain forward will feel every bit a new signing if he can stay out of the medical room.
But it's also fair to say there are several players whose reputations have been enhanced lately – or at the very least restored.
Ronald Araujo really stepped up last season and matured into a colossus of a centre-back. Athletic, composed on the ball and uncompromising in defence, the Uruguayan looks cut out for a long career at the heart of Barca's backline.
While some might've had concerns about his ability to get Barca on the front foot, with his passing range hardly that of a young Pique, the arrival of Jules Kounde should offset those worries given the France international's reputation as an excellent progressor of the ball.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the Xavi era so far, however, has been Ousmane Dembele.
Almost perennially injured or underwhelming at Barca, Dembele became essential for Xavi's men in the second half of last season.
Between January 1 and the end of the campaign, Dembele's assists count of 11 was four more than anyone else in the league despite the Frenchman not even playing 1,100 minutes. Vinicius, for example, registered six from 1,182 minutes.
Granted, Dembele's assists tally outstripped his expected assists (xA), though his 7.3 xA was still comfortably better than everyone else over the same period – Vinicius was second with 4.5 xA.
Until he has an extended period without injury, Dembele's fitness and reliability will always be a concern, but Xavi has made it clear the winger is key to his plans, and the 25-year-old has certainly shown his commitment by signing a new contract on reduced terms. He wants to be a success at Barca.
New blood
Now, obviously this part comes with an asterix. Barca have made some impressive additions to their squad, but it remains to be seen whether they can register them in time for the opening weekend. They can only do that if LaLiga are happy their finances are in order and the club adhere to their salary limit.
But assuming Laporta finds a way to get the green light before the transfer window closes, the new faces should be considered statement signings.
The headline arrival is obviously Robert Lewandowski. Barca didn't necessarily have a problem scoring goals last season, but they were short of reliable options in the centre of attack, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang often occupying spaces out on the left.
Ferran Torres simply isn't a 'killer' in front of goal, Lewandowski is, and you don't need to go into any great detail to explain precisely what he'll offer; his 161 top-flight goals over the past five years is 30 more than any other player in the top five leagues (Lionel Messi is second with 131).
Among those charged with laying on chances for Lewandowski will be Raphinha, whose dynamism and exceptional creativity made him one of the standout Premier League wingers at Leeds United.
His ability to come inside onto his left foot will give Barca greater invention in central areas as well, potentially key against packed defences, and he's demonstrably a wonderful creator, with his 13.0 xA over two seasons in the Premier League bettered only by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bruno Fernandes, Mohamed Salah, Mason Mount and Kevin De Bruyne – not bad for a player who was embroiled in a relegation battle last term.
Then you've got Kounde, who has not only marked himself out as one of LaLiga's best defenders in three seasons at Sevilla, but many consider him an archetypal Barca centre-back – in fact, his ability on the ball was best exemplified against the Catalans in the Copa del Rey last season, when he embarked on a brilliant solo run from defence before applying a cool finish.
Add Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen to the mix as well, and Barca have themselves an impressive array of signings who all appear well-suited to the club's particular brand of football.
When they'll all be able to play is still a mystery, but clearly Barca will be a force when they can.
For the second consecutive year, Romelu Lukaku is returning to a former club. This time around, there is greater confidence he will be a success.
Lukaku's second attempt to forge a career at Chelsea proved as frustrating as his first.
Underused at Stamford Bridge as a young player before departing for Everton, Lukaku would argue he was misused last season.
The unstoppable force who had fired Inter to the 2020-21 Serie A title was gone, with the Belgium forward looking a little lost in Thomas Tuchel's system.
Now, though, Lukaku is back at Inter. Antonio Conte may no longer be at San Siro, but Lautaro Martinez, Lukaku's former strike partner, crucially still is.
The main man in Lukaku's absence, Martinez improved his goal output from 17 in 2020-21 to 21 last season, albeit that tally was still only enough to finish third in the Capocannoniere race.
Lukaku had been second the year before with 24, beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo, but his focus in returning to Italy is again on team success, with Inter having just lost the Scudetto to Milan.
"I don't care about the top scorers' ranking, I tell you honestly," Lukaku told DAZN ahead of the new season. "I only think of the Scudetto.
"Yes, the goals come, but we are at Inter, here we play for the Scudetto and not for individual things."
Succeeding as a team means playing as a team, and Lukaku and Martinez undoubtedly did that in 2020-21.
The pair created a combined 29 chances for one another, with eight of those leading to goals. That goal-assist combination made Lukaku and Martinez the most effective partnership in the division, ahead of Ruslan Malinovskyi and Duvan Zapata at Atalanta (seven goals).
The five goals Lukaku laid on for Martinez contributed to his 11 assists for the season, trailing only Malinovskyi (12) in that regard.
Indeed, since Opta's Serie A assist data began in 2004-05, Lukaku is the only player to score 20 or more goals and provide 10 or more assists in the same season.
Lukaku's inability to contribute a single assist in the Premier League last term therefore illustrates how spectacularly Chelsea failed to get the best out of him. Netting just eight times himself, he failed to link up with any Blues team-mate for more than a single goal.
That is not to say Lukaku and Martinez clicked instantly at Inter; in the former's first season in Italy, in 2019-20, he scored 23 goals but assisted only two. One of those two assists saw Lukaku tee up Martinez, but the Argentina forward did not return the favour even once.
In 2020-21, unlike at Chelsea, Lukaku was able to make the most of his best attributes for the benefit of both himself and his team-mate.
Rather than consider Lukaku a target man, Conte allowed his number nine to turn and run with the ball, with five of his assists coming following ball carries – along with four of his goals. Only Luis Muriel (12), another Atalanta player, contributed to more Serie A goals following carries than Lukaku's nine.
None of his eight Chelsea goals came following carries as he recorded only 4.4 carries per 90 minutes, down from 7.7 at Inter.
With Simone Inzaghi still using the same 3-5-2 formation that suited Lukaku so well, he and Inter will hope his reintegration now is seamless.
There remain other issues at the Nerazzurri, and goals were not necessarily the biggest problem Inzaghi's side had last term; they scored just five fewer than the previous season and led the league in that regard.
With three fewer victories than in their title-winning campaign, Inter finished two points shy of rivals Milan.
Yet Lukaku either scored or assisted in 22 of Inter's 38 games in 2020-21 and in 20 of their 28 wins – both league highs that show how vital his contributions can be.
The Nerazzurri will now head into the new season feeling confident they have re-signed the one man most likely to dominate Serie A matches on his own... or with a partner.
Fans' wait for the World Cup has, of course, been a little longer than normal this time around – ordinarily the tournament would've already been completed.
Nevertheless, the big kick-off is closing in with Qatar 2022 now just 100 days away – we're into the final straight!
As with any major tournament, predicting a winner in the build-up is just a natural part of being a football fan, even if it can often be a fool's errand.
But considering how integral statistics are to football these days, using data might just give you the edge, and that's where Stats Perform come in.
Our Artificial Intelligence team have used Opta's extensive data reserves to quantify each team's chances of winning the entire tournament.
Every match has been run through the Stats Perform World Cup prediction model to calculate the estimated probability of the outcome (win, draw or loss). This uses odds from betting markets and Stats Perform team rankings, which are based on historical and recent performances.
It takes into consideration the strength of each team's opponents as well as the difficulty of their respective paths to the final, plus the make-up of the groups and any relevant seedings heading into the knockouts.
Then, the rest of the tournament is simulated 40,000 times and analysed, providing the AI team with a percentage for each nation, showing the probability of them ultimately lifting the trophy at the Lusail Stadium on December 18.
Let's check out the results…
FAVOURITES: France (17.9 per cent)
Suspend your disbelief! Yes, reigning champions France have the greatest probability of winning the World Cup this year, with our model giving them an almost 18-per cent chance of clinching a third title.
But let's not overlook how remarkable an achievement that would be. No team has retained the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, and the only other occasion of that happening was in the 1930s when Italy won it back-to-back.
France were the favourites heading into Euro 2020 but were ultimately disappointing – they'll need to do significantly better here otherwise their fate could be sealed by the dreaded winners' curse.
Each of the past four European winners of the World Cup have been eliminated in the group stages, a trend that began with Les Bleus in 2002.
2. Brazil (15.7 per cent)
Another unsurprising entry. That's right, record winners Brazil come in at second in terms of likelihood of winning the World Cup.
Tite's side qualified with ease and clearly have an extremely talented group of players available to them – the problem is getting them all on the pitch at one time while retaining a cohesive and balanced shape.
If Tite can find the magic formula at the World Cup this time, at the very least you'd expect them to get beyond the quarter-finals, the stage they crashed out to Belgium four years ago in Kazan.
Failure, however, will mean Brazil's World Cup drought will stretch to 24 years by the time the 2026 edition comes around, and that would make it their joint-longest barren run in the competition since claiming their first title in 1958.
3. Spain (11.5 per cent)
La Roja aren't the force they were as recently as 10 years ago, when they won a third successive major international tournament with victory at Euro 2012.
However, Luis Enrique has turned them into a side that is easy on the eye and capable of carving open the best teams – their main issue in recent years has been finding a reliable striker, and that'll likely be what determines how far they get in Qatar.
Either way, we can surely expect a better showing than they managed in Russia, where they were hindered by the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup as a result of accepting a post-tournament role at Real Madrid.
4. England (8.0 per cent)
The Three Lions almost won their first major international trophy since 1966 last year at Euro 2020, only to fall at the final hurdle against Italy.
Either way, few can deny it was a sign of progress: they reached the Russia 2018 semi-finals, the final at Euro 2020, so surely Qatar 2022 is theirs already?
Gareth Southgate has made England an effective tournament side, even if doubts remain over his ability to impose a style of play that sees the Three Lions take the initiative against the biggest teams.
Similarly, their performances in the first round of Nations League fixtures in June left a lot to be desired, but that won't stop expectations from soaring in Qatar.
5. Belgium (7.9 per cent)
Squeezing into the top five ahead of the Netherlands (7.7 per cent) are Belgium, who reached the semi-finals four years ago before being eliminated by eventual winners France.
It's fair to say this is likely to be the last opportunity for the Red Devils' so-called 'golden generation' to truly leave its mark on a major tournament – in fact, many original members of that Belgium generation have already retired.
While success for Roberto Martinez's side looks unlikely, they are a match for any team on their day, and our probability score recognises they are by no means out of contention.
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Netherlands and Germany (7.2) are hard on Belgium's heels in our predictor table, though in both cases fans might feel their squads have more to offer than their neighbours.
Both teams have solid blends of experience and youthful exuberance, while the two coaches have vast experience – Louis van Gaal needs no introduction, while Hansi Flick has been involved in the Germany setup for much of his coaching career.
But the teams many will be looking out for because of certain individuals are Argentina (6.5 per cent) and Portugal (5.1 per cent).
They are the only other two to be given more than a 2.3 per cent chance of World Cup success, and given the presence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, they cannot be discounted.
Argentina have rebuilt since a somewhat shambolic campaign in Russia, with Lionel Scaloni inspiring La Albiceleste to their first Copa America in 28 years in 2021.
Messi was central to their triumph in that tournament, and now he's got the proverbial monkey off his back, there's hope Argentina could produce a respectable showing.
With Ronaldo 37 and Messi 35, it's unlikely either will play another World Cup. Given the tournament is synonymous with those generally regarded as the best ever – Pele and Diego Maradona – they will be desperate to crown their respective careers.
This is it.
10. Croatia (2.3 per cent)
11. Denmark (2.0 per cent)
12. Uruguay (1.5 per cent)
13. Mexico (1.4 per cent)
14. Switzerland (1.0 per cent)
15. Poland (0.8 per cent)
16. Iran (0.6 per cent)
17. Japan (0.5 per cent)
18. United States (0.5 per cent)
19. Wales (0.4 per cent)
20. Qatar (0.4 per cent)
21. South Korea (0.4 per cent)
22. Serbia (0.2 per cent)
23. Senegal (0.2 per cent)
24. Ecuador (0.2 per cent)
25. Australia (0.1 per cent)
26. Ghana (
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