Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Barcelona, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.
Every week, we will bring you key information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Barca with reporting you can trust.
The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at the Spanish champions, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships.
What’s the biggest talking point at Barcelona right now?
Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s defeat at Osasuna to return to the top of La Liga with a 3-0 home win over Levante on Sunday night.
It was a comfortable victory that followed damaging defeats at Girona and Atletico Madrid — but as it is election season at the Camp Nou, attention quickly moved on.
On Monday morning, Barca issued a statement in response to news of a legal complaint being filed against Joan Laporta, alleging financial irregularities during his time as club president.
In their statement, Barca said it was an “illegitimate attempt to alter the normal development of the democratic process”. Speaking on Catalunya Radio, Laporta said the allegations were “absolutely false” and solely intended to “slander, defame, and harm”.
Laporta returned for a second spell as Barca president in 2021 (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
News of the legal complaint and its claims was first reported in El Periodico. The Athletic has not seen details of the complaint but has confirmed it has been received by a national court in Madrid.
However, there is no indication yet that it will lead to any action being taken.
When are the elections?
Laporta, who returned as president for a second term in 2021 (after also serving from 2003-2010), is the favourite to win the vote, which will be held on March 15. Some 114,504 club members are eligible to cast their ballot.
Laporta’s main opposition will come from Catalan fintech entrepreneur Victor Font, local businessman Marc Ciria and former club executive and head of La Masia, Xavier Vilajoana. They have all announced their intention to stand against him.
However, in order to do so they also first need to submit 2,337 supporting signatures from the club’s membership. They have until 9pm on March 2 to gather those. The Athletic will have more coverage of the race as it heats up.
What did we learn from Sunday’s game?
It was not a flashy performance, but victory over Levante did help to ease some concerns that had been growing around the team.
As The Athletic reported last week, Hansi Flick questioned the players’ attitude and intensity during critical training ground talks held the day after their 4-0 thrashing at Atletico on February 12. The players responded with their own concerns about the tactics they were asked to follow — not just in that Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.
The debate did not cool down after Barca were beaten last Monday at Girona. That prompted another longer team meeting on Thursday. Coaching staff and players left the meeting satisfied with the exchange of opinions, feeling like the team was ready to move on from their bad spell of results.
At his press conference before the Levante game, Flick said he “wanted to be honest and open, to listen to what the players say”.
He added: “Those moments are never easy, but communication is really important. I think it’s key to work like that, they need to be able to say something and we need leaders on the pitch.”
There will be bigger tests to come for sure, but Flick’s main tweak to the starting XI on Sunday did have a direct impact, with Marc Bernal, chosen to start as a holding midfielder, getting the opening goal.
But the decisive factor in the result was perhaps Joao Cancelo, who came back with an unexpected bang. Flick left Alejandro Balde on the bench for the second consecutive game, and Portugal international Cancelo, who returned to the club on loan from Al Hilal in January, took his chance to shine.
He played on the left flank, operating practically as a winger when Barca were in possession, and became the biggest source of creativity in breaking down Levante’s low block. His performance was topped with an excellent assist for Frenkie de Jong, who scored Barca’s second goal.
“I was not in my best shape when I arrived, I have to admit that,” Cancelo told broadcasters Movistar after the match. “But step by step I am getting back to my best. Hopefully that’s a good performance to build on.”
Less impressive were the performances from Barca’s strikers. Robert Lewandowski started the match and was below par. Ferran Torres came in after 62 minutes and did not improve much.
Lewandowski has scored two goals in his last 10 La Liga appearances, while Torres has one goal in his last eight. Both will need to offer more if Barca want to keep dreaming big this season.
Yamal became the youngest player to register 100 wins with Barca (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal had his moment in the spotlight, but not for anything he did on the pitch. He was subbed off in the 88th minute, with Barca already 3-0 up after Fermin Lopez got the third, and was visibly annoyed as he walked to the bench.
“For me it’s normal, for you it’s a big thing,” Flick said after the game. “I have no problem with that. The most important thing is we won. Other players deserved to play too, such as Roony Bardghji (who replaced Yamal.)”
Yamal became the youngest player to register 100 wins with Barcelona, at the age of 18 years and 224 days. Behind him in the list there’s Bojan Krkic, who was 20 when he reached the landmark figure, and Lionel Messi, who was 21.
How did Pedri look?
We’ve saved the best news for last.
Pedri returned after a month on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury. He came on in the 66th minute to a standing ovation from the Camp Nou. Barca’s fans are fully aware that the team’s chances of winning titles this season depend on keeping Pedri fit.
He looked very comfortable on the pitch, controlled the game without any trouble and showed no limits in his movement.
Getting roughly 30 minutes in the tank was the plan Flick and his backroom staff had for the 23-year-old. The idea is to ease Pedri in progressively for him to be fully back by the Champions League round of 16 next month. He could even start in the return leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals against Atletico on March 3.
Pedri played about half an hour in Sunday’s game (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
The next in line to return in midfield should be Gavi. The 21-year-old returned to training with his team-mates last week, but his case is going to be treated with even more caution. He suffered a meniscus tear in August, as well as an anterior cruciate ligament tear in November 2023.
