Ex-Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal predicts 2023-24 UEFA Champions League winner
Former Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal believes the Catalan giants will win the UEFA Champions League this season.
Interestingly, he's predicted the Blaugrana to come up against Bayern Munich in the final, another old team of the Chile international. He claims the Catalan side will triumph against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final and beat Atletico Madrid in the final four stage.
Currently, Xavi and company hold the upper hand in the quarter-final against their Parisian opponents after a thrilling first-leg at the Parc des Princes (3-2).
Raphinha's brace and Andreas Christensen's 77th-minute header helped Barcelona turn this game around from 2-1 down and take home a goal advantage before the second leg.
Additionally, Barcelona have seemingly drawn a more favourable path to the Champions League final this year. They face the winners of Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final.
Meanwhile, the victors of Arsenal or Bayern Munich will take on either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the other semi-final of the tournament. Vidal's predictions may seem a little biased, favoring both his former sides, who have failed to impress in their respective leagues this year.
Bayer Leverkusen have already won the Bundesliga with five games remaining, while the Catalns are eight points behind leaders Real Madrid. At Camp Nou, Vidal made 96 appearances across competitions, bagging 11 goals and assists each. He won the La Liga title once and one other trophy with the club.
Upcoming week important for Xavi's future at Barcelona- Reports
Barcelona manager Xavi announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down as the club's boss at the end of the season. However, reports claim that the Spanish coach could still change his mind about remaining at the club if they manage to win a silverware (via Barca Universal).
According to this aforementioned report, a lot could depend on how the Blaugrana fair in their next two matches across competitions. First up is a UEFA Champions League second-leg quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
Following that, the Catalan side travel to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid in La Liga. A win in the Clasico will reduce the gap between Barcelona and Los Blancos to five points in the race for the Spanish top-flight title.
Consecutive victories in both these fixtures will provide real belief to Blaugrana fans that their team could finish with silverware this season and hold on to Xavi.