Barcelona have been on fire to start the 2024/25 La Liga season under Hansi Flick, as they currently sit first in the league ahead of a hyped Real Madrid squad that added Kylian Mbappe and Endrick this summer.
But despite all the offseason attention on the Merengues, Barcelona have actually formed the most potent attack in Spanish football with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski performing at an even higher level under new manager Hansi Flick, Dani Olmo clicking with his new side, and Lamine Yamal building from his brilliant Euro performance.
Defensively, Barcelona have suffered some blows with a season-ending injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal, as well as serious injuries to starting center backs Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, but the Blaugrana have still managed to make do with a goal per game allowed in comparison to more than three goals scored per match.
According to a report from Diario Sport, Hansi Flick has been impressed with the current center back partnership of young phenom Pau Cubarsi and LaLiga veteran Inigo Martinez.
He’s so impressed that Ronald Araujo will reportedly have a tough time winning back his starting job when he returns from injury, and that decision would surely create controversy among the fanbase, with some liking Araujo’s raw talent while others have grown tired of his overly aggressive errors.
Araujo is one of the most talented defenders in world football and one of the few players who can stop Real Madrid superstar and Ballon d’Or favorite Vinicius Junior one-on-one.
Benching Araujo may be a move that is difficult to justify, but the Uruguayan star was mentioned in transfer rumors last season. So was Martinez, but the free agent signing has redeemed himself over the last several weeks.
Araujo has been out since July 15 when he suffered a right hamstring injury at Copa America that required surgery. He is tentatively expected to return next month after El Clasico, but it looks like Barcelona could move on in favor of two players who are more consistent.
At the very least, Cubarsi has to continue to start. Like Yamal, he is the present and future of Barcelona and has all the tools to become the absolute best player in the world at his position.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.