Barcelona have had a very promising 2024-25 season up until now, and are well-placed for success across all competitions. Hansi Flick’s side have already won the Spanish Super Cup, and they will be targeting further honours before the campaign is over.
As per Sport, club icon Rivaldo reflected on the current state of play at Barcelona, and he admitted that he expects them to be challengers in the Champions League at the very least.
“I used to think it was too early to talk about Barcelona’s favouritism. I said that it would take a while to be Champions League winners again because of everything that has happened in recent years, with the very difficult moments, changes of coaches, problems within the club… But now they’re playing very well. Their football is dazzling fans and the whole world, who are once again enjoying watching the team play. There’s a lot of matches ahead of us, but today I see Barcelona with a good chance of going far in this Champions League and with a chance of being champions.”
It’s been Barcelona’s attack that has driven their success so far, and Rivaldo expects the starting trio of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha to continue being decisive.
“Lewandowski, Yamal and Raphinha have everything to be a trio that makes history at Barcelona. The way they are playing shows that the team is also very united. From the outside you can see that the players are connected, focused and egoless within the team.”
Rivaldo also spoke on Lamine Yamal specifically, whom he expects to soon become the best player in the world.
“He plays as if he were 25 years old, with a lot of experience – he plays with ease. It has already been said that next season he will wear the number 10 shirt. With the personality he has, he will surely soon be a candidate for the best player in Europe and the world. He’s a player I admire, I like his style of play. He is a jewel of Barcelona, a boy who deserves all the good he is achieving for the person he is. You can tell he’s humble, he hasn’t let fame or money go to his head, and I really admire players who have that kind of attitude.”
