Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal is stepping into the spotlight as Hansi Flick's Barcelona takes on the daunting task of toppling a formidable Real Madrid side for the Spanish title this season.
Flick, who succeeded club icon Xavi Hernandez, recently welcomed new signing Dani Olmo.
Meanwhile, last season’s La Liga champions, Madrid, have bolstered their squad with French superstar Kylian Mbappe, adding to an already impressive lineup featuring Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
With such star power at their disposal, Barcelona is set to begin the season as clear underdogs to Los Blancos.
The Catalan giants won nothing last season and surrendered their Spanish crown in a deeply disappointing campaign. However, 17-year-old Yamal's emergence shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Along with Olympic gold medal-winning center-back Pau Cubarsi, financially hampered Barcelona will rely on their young stars to try and compete with the might of Carlo Ancelotti's Champions League winners.
Many believe Barcelona need a left winger and a deep-lying midfielder to put themselves in a position to fight for silverware, but the club's economic struggles make those dreams unlikely after Olmo's arrival.
Flick's side beat Madrid in preseason during a tour of the United States but was brought crashing down to earth on Monday by Monaco, who enjoyed a 3-0 win in the traditional Joan Gamper Trophy curtain-raiser at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium in their final friendly.
"We didn’t play with our normal speed or combinations, and we lost a lot of balls," said Flick after the chastening defeat. "But in the end, it is preseason. I know the team can play much better than today. We have five more days now and will prepare them well for the next match against Valencia (Barça's La Liga opener)."
The German coach is hoping to transform the club's pressing game, but with pivotal striker Robert Lewandowski soon turning 36, there are doubts over whether he can achieve it.
Flick is further set back by injuries to midfielders Pedri, Gavi, and Frenkie de Jong, as well as center-back Ronald Araujo, which means he starts the season with depleted ranks.
Return home
Barcelona is planning to return to their renovated Camp Nou stadium midway through the season if building works stay on track, which will be a welcome boost for demoralized fans.
Although a club of Barcelona's size is always aiming to compete for silverware, expectations seem lower than usual in Catalonia. Gone are the days when stellar names like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar made Barcelona the most fearsome attacking line in world football.
Instead, it was youngster Yamal who fans cheered for against Monaco, with Barcelona supporters' biggest roar of the night reserved for the moment the winger jogged down the touchline to warm up.
Yamal, who made his Barça debut at 15, was a vital figure in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph this season and has taken to elite football like a duck to water. No challenge has appeared too daunting thus far for Barcelona academy starlet Yamal, leading to inevitable comparisons with Messi.
With Sergi Roberto departing after 14 years in the first-team squad, Marc-André ter Stegen takes the armband as Barcelona captain.
"I hope the fans are with us all year because many good things are ahead of us," said the goalkeeper after the Monaco defeat. "Let's hope that was an accident... it’s a good warning, and let’s hope that in a few days, we’ll be better."
If Barcelona is to compete with Madrid this season, improvement is essential.