Can Barcelona win the Champions League with their current philosophy? | OneFootball

Barcelona and Real Madrid were both eliminated from the Champions League in the quarter-finals. Their losses against Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively led many to claim it’s a referendum on Spanish football.

That’s a bit of hogwash. Atlético Madrid is also a Spanish club, and let’s not forget that Real Madrid defeated the financial juggernaut Manchester City on their way to Bayern Munich (another team with substantial financial might). Instead, the question that should be asked in 2026 is: what’s the best way to win the Champions League?

Health

Step one is of course have players healthy. While Lamine Yamal will be missing the remainder of Barcelona’s regular season, his availability throughout the Champions League was a key component of the Blaugrana’s success. Instead, the name to look at is Raphinha. The Brazilian played 4,661 minutes under Hansi Flick last season, pouring in a whopping 60 goal contributions in 57 games. This campaign, in 2,105 minutes, he’s managed 27 goal contributions in 31 games.

The spine of Flick’s team is built more like a Y. The most important pieces start from the back: Joan García, Pau Cubarsí, Pedri. Then they fork into Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. When any of those five players are missing, Barça’s win rate suffers. Looking ahead to next season, at least four of those five will be key players for Flick again.

Transfers

This Champions League campaign should be a good litmus test for what will or won’t work next season and how it should guide the transfer window. The biggest question is about style. Can a team who wants to control the ball to create a larger number of chances, regardless of the quality of those chances, succeed in Europe?

European competition has long rewarded those squads that are ruthless in transition, as best illustrated by the multiple Champions League won by Real Madrid in years where they didn’t have the same consistency in La Liga.

Speaking of La Liga, if Hansi Flick can hold on to that nine point lead without Lamine Yamal, back-to-back La Liga trophies would be a huge accomplishment. Under Flick’s tenure, Barcelona is a team with a $103M budget, when both Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid have spent more $230M. Somehow that lack of spending keeps some of the pressure off the German and his young team.

That could change this summer if Barcelona gets back to 1:1 spending with the others and can bring in big name players. Transfers like Julián Alvarez and Alessandro Bastoni would certainly change Culer’s expectations, though those two in particular might not change Flick’s set-up.

Alvarez is not a typical number nine striker. Despite Atléti beating Barcelona in transition, Alvarez would likely fit into a role as an upgrade over Ferran Torres as opposed to a completely different look in the attack.

Bastoni, meanwhile, is a reactive defender who would add even more dynamism with the ball and help Flick to continue his project of constant pressure on the opponent.

However, the Italian isn’t the physical specimen that other teams use to deal with menacing counter-attacks and likely wouldn’t solve the issues that critics throw at Barcelona’s high line and offside trap.

Flexibility

The answer to the initial question is of course a nuanced one. Barcelona can win the Champions League with their current style, but they do need an ability to adapt to different game states better.

Bayern Munich, who took down Real Madrid, showed over the 180 minutes their adaptability. Late in the second half of the first leg, Bayern Munich looked shaky when the game became a transitional track meet, but they survived. In contrast, during similar moments in their tie against Atléti, Barcelona conceded two red cards.

When it was time for Bayern to control the game against Los Blancos, they baited the Spaniards into a red card of their own. Then they finished the tie in ruthless fashion with two goals right afterwards.

Bayern Munich has given Barcelona the model. It will be on the former Bayern boss, if he returns for a third season, to figure it out.