5 interesting takeaways from Barcelona's pre-season
Barcelona are in a huge crisis right now, as they have let go their greatest-ever player, Lionel Messi, a few days ago. The departure of the Argentine has saddened the hearts of cules all over the globe and could hurt Barcelona in the months to come.
However, the club will have to move on after parting ways with their best player this summer, especially as the new campaign kicks off in less than a week. If their performances in pre-season are any indication, there are reasons to believe there's light at the end of the tunnel.
Barcelona kickstarted their pre-season with a friendly against Gimnastic. They followed that up with matches against Girona and Stuttgart before rounding off with a clash with Juventus for the Joan Gamper trophy.
Even though there were a few things that could've been done better, the Blaugrana registered some interesting showings that will raise the hope of fans for next season. Here's a look at five of them.
#5 Memphis Depay off to a bright start at Barcelona
Ronald Koeman finally got his dream signing this summer, as Memphis Depay landed at Barcelona on a free transfer from Olympique Lyon. The attacker took no time endearing himself to the fans with his brilliant performances during the pre-season.
Depay scored his first goal in a Blaugrana shirt, albeit in a friendly, during the 3-1 victory over Girona before following that up with another against Stuttgart.
The Dutchman proved to be a huge threat to opposition defenders with his pace, and dribbling prowess. He made four appearances for the club during the pre-season, scoring three goals.
#4 Rey Manaj firing on all cylinders
Rey Manaj is another Barcelona attacker who has emerged as a winner from the pre-season. The young forward stole the highlights when he bagged an impressive hat-trick for the Catalan giants in their first pre-season clash with Gimnastic on July 21.
He found the back of the net in the subsequent game against Girona too, and concluded his outing with a total of four goals in as many games for Barcelona. With these performances, Manaj has put himself on the map, and many are already tipping him to become a future star for the club.