As the 2025–26 season begins to peak over the horizon, Hansi Flick is gearing up his Barcelona side for the start of his highly anticipated second campaign in charge.
The first practice sessions of the summer have seen plenty of familiar faces return, as well as some newcomers that’ll begin their Barcelona career. What’s evident from the first few images of said training sessions, is the absurd attacking depth heading into season.
This should come as no surprise, Barcelona scored 174 goals across all competitions in2024–25, the third highest mark in club history. Flick’s attack became the deadliest in Europe, resulting in the club’s first ever domestic treble. But Barcelona want more in 2025–26 and, with a few additions already in house, the Blaugrana goalscoring machine could become even more prolific.
In Flick’s traditional 4-2-3-1 set-up, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal command the wings. Dani Olmo—when healthy—is the man in charge of the No. 10 role, right behind the timeless Robert Lewandowski, who leads the line.
These four players are the penciled in starters for next season, though, Barcelona have plenty of other alternatives capable of being difference makers off the bench.
Here’s Sports Illustrated’s ranking of Barcelona’s best attacking alternatives that are set to start the 2025–26 season in a supporting role.
5. Roony Bardghji
Barcelona’s first attacking acquisition of the summer was 19-year-old Swedish talent Roony Bardghji. Though the former FC Copenhagen player is seen as a signing for the future, he’ll have a chance to prove he deserves to stay with the first team during pre-season.
Bardghji is a raw prospect, but he’s got all the tools to mature into an elite right winger. Naturally left–footed, he’s always a threat to cut inside and fire rockets from distance, yet, he’s also shown to be more than capable of being deadly with his weaker right foot.
Perhaps even more impressive is Bardghji’s dribbling skills. He’s a master technician that loves to take people on. He might not be the tallest nor the strongest, but he knows how to utilize his body to his advantage. He might not be the fastest, but his initial burst of quickness is more than effective.
If Bardghji impresses Flick enough during pre-season and proves he’s back to full fitness following a long term injury, then a loan deal for the upcoming campaign might be discarded and Barça could have found the answer to not overload Yamal.
4. Gavi
Gavi’s recovery from a November 2023 ACL tear impeded him from taking part in Flick’s first pre-season with Barcelona. Presently at full health, he’ll be eager to become a more prominent figure come the start of the new term.
Flick’s usage of Gavi last season was interesting. Prior to his injury, Gavi was mostly deployed in deeper areas, helping begin possessions from the base of midfield. During 2024–25, Flick primarily used him as an attacking midfielder in the No. 10 role instead.
The tenacious, high intensity presser fits perfectly with Flick’s energetic style that urges Barcelona to recover the ball as far up the pitch as possible. But lost in the tireless off-ball work rate, is Gavi’s undeniable quality with the ball.
As a true La Masia midfielder, Gavi is a gifted technician. His first touch is nearly flawless, he’s got every imaginable pass in his locker and his vision is underrated. Gavi admitted the transition to a more advanced role was something he was still getting used to, but there were still flashes of what he can become under Flick.
With a full pre-season to continue evolving his game in the final third and almost two years removed from his horrendous injury, 2025–26 could be the year where Gavi returns to the form that saw him win the 2022 Kopa Trophy. Only now, blossoming into a bonafide attacking menace.
3. Ferran Torres
Did any other 20-goal season in 2024–25 go as unnoticed as Ferran Torres’s?
The former Manchester City man was Flick’s super sub for the bulk of last season. But when injuries began slowing Lewandowski down, Torres entered the lineup and Barcelona didn’t miss a beat—in fact, an argument could be made that the attack looked slightly better.
Torres erupted into the scene playing almost exclusively on the wings. Under Flick, he developed into a mobile No. 9 that gives Barcelona’s attack more fluidity. Torres can drop into midfield or to the wings, interchanging positions with other Barça forwards that disrupt and confuse opposing defenses with dangerous runs into space from all angles and depths.
Despite starting just 12 La Liga games, “Shark” finished the league season with 16 goal involvements. His 10 La Liga goals scored were more than high profile players like Antoine Griezmann, Nico Williams, Rodrygo and even teammate Yamal.
With 14 goals across all competitions since the turn of the year alone, Torres looks more than capable of continuing to build from his recent success. Simply put, he’s a plentiful source of goals from the bench that not many teams across the continent have.
2. Marcus Rashford
He might not have been Barcelona’s top option to reinforce Flick’s attack, despite what president Joan Laporta is now publicly claiming, but Marcus Rashford has what it takes to become a difference-maker for his new team.
Barcelona’s obsessive search for a new left winger is over and Rashford will wear the Blaugrana shirt in 2025–26. Though he’s not currently viewed as a starter, the England international has shown in the past to be an elite playmaker—30 goals for Manchester United in 2022–23 says plenty.
Rashford offers a new dimension to Barcelona’s attack. A gifted athlete who thrives running into space. In a team full of midfield technicians associated with short and intermediate passes that lure out defenders, Rashford can exploit the spaces left behind the lines. It’s not hard to envision Pedri’s first through ball into the Rashford’s path.
The former Manchester United man also opens up intriguing tactical options for Flick. Barcelona could utilize Rashford on the left with Raphinha through the middle—an area he drifted into constantly last season. Lewandowski would lead the line, but alternatively, this setup could also allow Dani Olmo to be deployed as a false nine, where he looked arguably at his best in his first season with Barcelona.
Rashford’s stock has never been lower. Yet, it’s worth remembering that two summers ago, he was coming off a 2022–23 campaign where he was in the conversation of being the Premier League player of the season.
If Flick unlocks Rashford‘s best form, then he could play a pivotal role in Barcelona’s silverware aspirations in 2025–26.
1. Fermin Lopez
Fermín López just keeps improving, maturing into an elite modern era No. 10. The 22-year-old had his breakout in 2023–24 under Xavi Hernández and seems to get better with every appearance.
Fermín is a game-changing playmaker in the final third. A supremely intelligent player that has a knack for finding spaces between markers in congested areas to receive the ball and then find an open teammate with his stellar vision and precise passing. Alternatively, he can finish the action himself thanks to his excellent finishing skills with either foot.
Another true La Masia-made midfielder, Fermín is technically savvy beyond his age and his brilliant understanding of the game is evident. He thrives in tight spaces and seemingly always makes the correct decision.
When the lights are brightest, Fermín is usually at his best. He scored in his first ever Clásico in a 2023 pre-season friendly. Later that season, he’d go on to score against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. In the 2024 Olympics, he was the best player of the tournament and his six goals and six assists led the way for Spain’s gold medal.
The importance of Fermín’s continued improvement gains significance when considering the player starting ahead of him. Dani Olmo has missed more than 15 games through injury in each of the past three seasons. Until Olmo proves he can stay healthy for long stretches of time, it serves Barcelona well to have such a high caliber backup in Fermín.
Speculation surrounding a possible Fermín departure has all but died-down. Now, entering his third season with Barcelona, he seems destined to push for a starting role in Flick’s lineup sooner rather than later.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ranking Barcelona’s Best Attacking Options Off the Bench in 2025–26.
