Out of Europe, Pedri done for the season – So what do we make of Xavi’s Barcelona as the season comes to a close?

Is Barcelona’s season over?

Well logistically of course it isn’t, they have eight La Liga matches remaining. But in the sense of what there is left in terms of competing, it’s pretty much done.

After the catastrophic home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at home on Thursday they are now out of both the Europa League as well as the Copa del Rey. In the league they are 12 points behind leaders Real Madrid, although with a game in hand.

Barring a sensational collapse it seems as if Barcelona will end the season in second or third in the league, with no trophies. For Barcelona that is not a good season.

But this wasn’t a normal season. The defeat to Frankfurt is extremely disappointing but ultimately this has to be a positive season for Barcelona. When you consider where they were under Ronald Koeman, to be where they are now under Xavi Hernandez is a big positive.

We may revisit this in a few weeks once those remaining games have been played but this feels like a really good time to take stock of Barcelona, where they’re at, and where they can and need to go moving forward.

Let’s start with the positives, and that begins with the manager. Let’s not forget how many people were dooming Xavi as an appointment. So many people predicted it was the wrong time for the prodigal son to return, while even more piled on after a fairly tricky start.

Now though, those naysayers are nowhere to be seen. Xavi is cemented as the manager of the future and whilst Joan Laporta and his team probably shouldn’t have given Koeman this season at all, they deserve credit for the move they made to bring Xavi in, that is a big win.

The biggest win on the pitch has to be the man whose injury now makes Barcelona a lot less enticing to watch, Pedri. The teenager’s evolution under Xavi has been absolutely remarkable in such a short period of time. The 19-year-old has become the dominant force in most games he plays, as well as the go-to player for his team-mates ahead of the more experienced Sergio Busquets and Frenkie De Jong. If you have the Camp Nou chanting your name the way they used to for Lionel Messi, you’ve done something right.

Whilst still a way away in terms of being on Pedri’s level, the development of Gavi also has to be a real positive. Gavi, and to a lesser extent Nico, have been trusted by Xavi and they have repaid that faith. One of the key promises of the Laporta presidency was leaning more into La Masia and even though it is early on Xavi seems like the perfect manager to blend the first-team and the academy.

There are two more players I want to highlight as real bright spots for this Barcelona season. The first may be a surprise to some (but not Barca fans) and that is Ronald Araujo. The Uruguayan is still raw, but he’s taken a big jump up and now, when you think of the future of Barcelona’s defence, Araujo is the cornerstone. He’s getting better on the ball with every match played and his reading of the game is night and day compared to where he was. His new deal hasn’t been made official at the time of writing, but expect that to be sorted between now and the end of the season.

The last real positive I think Barca need to take away is, unsurprisingly Ousmane Dembele. In January it looked as if Dembele had played his last game for the club, now he’s become one of their most important players. His 11 assists in the league has him joint-top, along with Karim Benzema. The difference is that Benzema has played 27 games, Dembele has played just 14! The reason I left Dembele to last is because this is a two-way street. Yes Dembele has really come on, and he looks finally like the player we thought he would be when they signed. But, there is still no new deal, or even any reports of a new deal. If this situation ends up with Dembele just playing himself into a bigger contract somewhere else I’m not sure this is a win.

The other general positive has been the transfer work done by Laporta, and probably more so Mateu Alemany. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has proven to be a stroke of genius and Ferran Torres has been good, if inconsistent so far. Dani Alves and Adama Traore have also been useful additions. There are reports that they may add Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie on free or minimal transfers. More sensible business, it’s been a while since we’ve been able to say that about Barcelona. The links to Robert Lewandowski don’t hurt either.

So what are the negatives? Well the defence is still a problem. Eric Garcia in particular is a real worry, and Sergino Dest hasn’t really developed the way you’d like, leading to some speculation he may be moved. So even if Azpilicueta and Christensen come in it feels as if there still is some work that needs to be done in bolstering the defence. That might also include looking at the midfield given the ease with which Barcelona are cut through at times. When Xavi sits down at the end of the season that is surely going to be a primary point of concern.

The other thing that still feels impossible to ignore is the club’s financial situation. Again, the work done by the board has been good so far, but there is still a lot of work to do. It’s a worry in being able to retain Araujo, Dembele and the lingering extension that is needed for Gavi. There’s a lot of players to move on as well, Neto, Samuel Umtiti, Sergi Roberto, Martin Braithwaite and maybe Memphis Depay? That is a lot of change for one off-season particularly when you consider next year will be interrupted by the World Cup.

So when you consider where Barcelona are right now I think you have to feel really positive. They are far from the finished project (as Thursday night showed) but they are right on their way to being one of the best clubs in the world. There is a ton of young talent, very promising manager, and leaders who seem to know what they’re doing for the most part. The defeat to Frankfurt will continue to sting, but there is real reason for optimism.