Barcelona have enjoyed an entertaining start to the 2025-26 season and arrive at the winter break on top of the pile in Spain and on target to retain their La Liga trophy.
Of course the season hasn’t been all smooth sailing and there have been a few bumps along the way.
Yet Hansi Flick has some real quality players in his squad who have helped fire Barca back to the top of the table, so let’s see which stars have been shining brightest so far this season…
Pedri
Barcelona midfielder Pedri has once again been a cut above this season for Hansi Flick’s side. The midfielder simply makes the game look easy and Barca are a completely different side when he is in the team.
The stats say it all…
His performances mean the plaudits have continued to roll in from far and wide. “Pedri is undoubtedly Harry Potter” said Luis Enrique before the Champions League tie between Barcelona and PSG, while Paul Scholes has admitted the Barca star is his “No. 1.”
Meanwhile, Flick has gone for “fantastic, “incredible” and “top class” when talking about Pedri and may just be rapidly running out of adjectives to describe his midfield star.
Pedri missed the final game of 2025 with a knock but should be back in time for Barca’s next game. One thing’s for certain, if Barca are to win trophies this season they will need Pedri in the team.
Raphinha
Barcelona have been forced to cope without Raphinha for chunks of this season already but it’s been no surprise to see results improve when the Brazilian is in the team.
With Gavi still out injured, Raphinha seems to have taken over the role of being Barcelona’s heart and soul and his seven goals and three assists from just 11 La Liga games once again highlight his importance to the team.
Raphinha’s Ballon d’Or and FIFA The Best snubs remain something of a mystery, although Barca fans really don’t need to be told exactly how good their No. 11 is.
“The decision is a joke,” is what Flick had to say after seeing Raphinha miss out, while the Barca coach’s heartfelt chat with Raphinha after the win over Alaves highlighted the great connection between player and manager at Camp Nou.
Eric Garcia
No one will really have expected to see Eric Garcia on this list at the start of the season but there’s no doubt he’s been absolutely vital in the first half of the campaign.
We already knew he was one of Hansi Flick’s favourites at Barcelona but he’s backed that status up with some excellent performances in a variety of positions this season.
Garcia has stepped up at right-back, center-back and in midfield and is not even letting a broken nose affect his performances right now.
He’s the only player to feature in every Barcelona game so far this season and has already been rewarded with a new contract with the Catalans.
“He could be captain in the future,” is what Flick has said of his versatile star, although Garcia was quick to play down such talk in typically humble style.
It’s all a far cry from the not-too-distant past when he looked destined to leave. Right now, it seems he’s one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal is another player who has been affected by injury issues this season but he has remained vital to Barcelona’s clause.
Still just 18, he ends the year with 21 goal contributions across all competitions in 2025-26. If you crunch the numbers that comes out at a rate of one for every 83 minutes – impressive stuff.
Yamal has continued to star at a time when his private life is regularly making headlines and tensions between Barcelona and Spain have risen to boiling point over the way he’s been handled by the national team.
Indeed it’s easy to forget sometimes that Yamal is only 18 years of age, still wearing braces on his teeth and just at the very start of his career.
After a year where he finished second in the Ballon d’Or, who knows what 2026 will bring?
Joan Garcia
Joan Garcia didn’t have the smoothest start to his Barcelona career. Swapping Espanyol for Barca was also going to be a controversial move, while nudging Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen towards the exit door has also prompted plenty of debate.
Yet Garcia has adapted to life at his new club with the minimum of fuss and has simply let his football do the talking so far.
A knee injury has disrupted his campaign but he’s since returned and looks like he’s never been away.
Garcia was signed as a “market opportunity” that Barca couldn’t turn down. It’s looking to be a very, very good bit of business so far.
Did I miss anybody out? Tell us which Barcelona players you have been most impressed by so far this season in the comments below!
