The Champions League returns for Barça, who visit Galatasaray's stadium this Tuesday at 9:00 PM (Movistar Liga de Campeones 2). After thrashing Feyenoord on the first matchday (5-1), the 'blaugranes' want another victory in the Champions League to remain at the top of the standings. Hansi Flick's side, which is without Raphinha, Christensen, De Jong, and Roony Bardghji, arrives after defeating Getafe (3-0) and securing their ninth win of the season. "It is the result of how we train; there is a great atmosphere in the dressing room, but every game is different and starts at 0-0," the German coach assured in the pre-match press conference. "We don't feel unstoppable because every match is a different world, but we are in a very good dynamic and full of confidence," added Pau Cubarsí.

Dressed in street clothes, wearing a black blazer, sunglasses, and a cap, Raphinha stepped onto the Camp Nou pitch minutes before the Barça-Getafe match to collect the award accrediting him as the best footballer in La Liga for the month of September. A more than well-deserved prize thanks to a stunning start to the season in which he has scored twelve goals and provided three assists in the league tournament, and has netted two more goals in the Champions League. He received an ovation from his teammates and the fans before sitting in the stands to watch how, without him, the blaugrana football machine remains well-oiled and had no trouble defeating the Madrid side.

Barça has returned in form from the international break and has steamrolled a Getafe side that barely made it past midfield (3-0). The team remains switched on, with an offensive mindset, and is capable of winning even when rotating or missing key injured players. Below, some hot takes.

The remodeling of the Spotify Camp Nou has been a masterclass for many people who are not accustomed to architectural concepts. Few works of this magnitude, not even public ones, have had such exhaustive monitoring. Joan Laporta's board has experienced them with a mixture of passion and nervousness. At the club, they are perfectly aware of the importance of having a state-of-the-art stadium that is capable of giving a boost to the entity's income. At the same time, they know that the delays and cost overruns have strained the economy to the limit with a huge debt. For this reason, some decisions have been made by prioritizing the income statement over the recommendations of some architects. At the club, which has already been using the stadium again for almost a year –at 60% capacity–, and which will probably reopen the museum next month, they are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, although the last obstacle to claim victory is still missing.

Who can stop this Barça? It is a giant that rolls over rivals who shrink as the game progresses. Hansi Flick has a plan to win everything and puts it into practice methodically. His team defeats opponents with a ease that can often be deceiving, because it seems too easy. Usually, when you have to face José Bordalás's Getafe, you find yourself condemned to an unpleasant combat with an opponent that sticks to you like a tick. And many times, after an international break, you drop points in trap games like this one. Things of the past. Flick's Barça seems to have solutions for any obstacle and with a new 3-0 thrashing, it equaled the record for the best start in the club's history in La Liga, with eight wins in eight games. A record that dated back to the era of Tata Martino.

Simple, emotional, and familiar. Nothing less was expected for the farewell ceremony of Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma, the silent hero of the best Barça in history. The Canarian forward says goodbye to 19 years of professional career. He will blow out 40 candles in 2027 and feels that the time has come to retire to spend more time with his partner, Patricia, and his four children. The youngest, Alejandra, spent the ceremony sitting on her father's lap, who brought her up on stage to silence her crying. It won't be long before she understands the impact of Pedrito, later Pedro, the son of a humble gas station attendant from Tenerife who one day landed in Barcelona and the next day, so to speak, became a legend.

Barça has not skimped on social media posts to report on the return this week of Frenkie de Jong to group training. 136 days after the last time, the Dutch midfielder placed himself under Hansi Flick's orders on Tuesday. He worked for a while at the same pace as his teammates. There are reasons, therefore, to celebrate a little at the end of a long and tedious international break. But the road to this good news has not been easy. It has involved losses of confidence that are difficult to repair. On the verge of seeing him play a match again, De Jong faces (to use cycling jargon) the most demanding stage since he arrived at the Camp Nou.

The Barça museum was key to securing funding from Goldman Sachs for the remodeling of the Camp Nou. The 'blaugrana' club had anticipated that the work would serve to multiply the revenue of a facility that in 2019 received 1.7 million visitors and was by far the most frequented in Catalonia. But the financial firm was not entirely convinced. It did not understand how it could go from 40 million in annual turnover to the 80 projected. Many reports and market studies were needed to convince the American bankers that the projections were realistic.

"Naval, 71, arrived at FC Barcelona in 1972 –more than 54 years ago– and began working as the first team delegate in the 1986-87 season. He has lived with a great number of coaches and players, and has become a true institution. Four decades alongside the team, sharing the dressing room, experiences and moments that are part of the club's history. And still today, he is a key piece in the dressing room". This is how the commemoration act of Carles Naval's 40 years as first team delegate was summarized on the Barça website. More than half a life at the service of the club of his loves and for as long as his strength continues.

At the 2019 assembly of delegates, Florentino Pérez argued for the purchase of CD Tacón as "the moment to build a team capable of competing and of which you can all feel proud." As of July 1, 2020, that Madrid club became Real Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino and began to enjoy better facilities and an increasing budget that was supposed to catapult it to the elite. The reality is that, six seasons later, the team still cannot overshadow a Barça that continues to win everything. Sunday's 7-0 at the Camp Nou, with 40,000 fans in the stands despite the weather conditions, a balance of 25 Azulgrana victories and only one for Madrid, and the 99 goals for and 12 against are the perfect proof of this.

Barça has faced this first international break, lasting more than two weeks (16 days) and with up to 17 players called up –now there are 15, with the return of Eric and Raphinha– by their countries, with "constant and fluid" communication. This is done between departments and, especially, with the Spanish national team, which has the largest group of Barça players, and with "specific plans for each footballer who has not traveled with the national teams," they explain to ARA from the Ciutat Esportiva.

The classic of last season was very special. The Barça-Madrid match was played again at the Camp Nou after two years of exile in Montjuïc and, furthermore, the blue and garnet team could be proclaimed League champion. With a stadium still at 60% of its capacity, and with a club in need of income to repay the Goldman Sachs credit, the board saw a golden opportunity to make money. Despite the criticism from some members and fans who considered the prices abusive, 16.3 million euros were finally raised. Quite a turnover record.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has released Raphinha from the friendly he was scheduled to play in India this weekend. Medical tests have determined that the Barcelona forward does not suffer from any serious injury, only an "edema" in his thigh, but "as a precaution" he is leaving the national team and returning to Barcelona.

As ARA has learned, Manel del Río will cease to be the CEO of Barça. The executive, who has already communicated his resignation to president Joan Laporta, will leave the position at the end of this month. This Monday, Del Río said goodbye to the club's management committee and confirmed that he was leaving the post. The position of CEO remains, for the moment, vacant. Sergio Serrano, who has held the financial directorship of the organization since this season, will assume a good part of the functions for the time being. Sources consulted at the 'blaugrana' club assure that the departure is "by mutual agreement" and value Del Río's "great work". "We are beginning a new financial management and a new stage," they state to this newspaper from Barça's executive offices.

Anthony Gordon explains that when he was three years old he already knew he wanted to play for Barça. He watched the Catalan club's matches on television and when it was time to choose a team in video games, he did not hesitate. He would bet on Barça, the club he dreamed of playing for, convinced that his destiny was written. And in this case, he was right. Even though his family were Liverpool fans, little Anthony had more in common with Guardiola, Iniesta or Xavi when he played, than with Steven Gerrard, his idol. And in fact, as has happened to many midfielders trained at La Masia, Gordon was also told that he was too small a boy. Too short and thin. He didn't have the body and energy of Steven Gerrard. So the Liverpool Academy closed its door to him. Initially, they didn't want him at Everton either, although that club realized their mistake shortly after and brought him back, making him debut in the First Division. At Liverpool, on the other hand, they didn't realize Gordon's potential until recently, when he was already playing in the Champions League with Newcastle. It was already too late.

Barça's good sporting streak suggested a calm assembly of delegates for Joan Laporta, but neither the president nor the executives breathed completely easily until the fourth item on the agenda was approved. The social base authorized the expansion of the Espai Barça credit by 300 million and validated the issuance of bonds for an additional 210 million. Money that was essential to finish the remodeling of a Camp Nou that has ended up costing more and has also taken longer than expected.

This time, the moral lesson that “campaigns are made by them, not us” cannot be pronounced. The pestering that Barça is doing for Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or cannot be masked, especially because the Catalan genius is the first to ensure that everyone gets on board the ship. Not even the elusive Hansi Flick has been able to escape it. The German coach, an enemy of egos and elements that distort collective goals, was called to duty to change his speech at the request of the star and the club's leadership. A bit forced by the circumstances, Flick also ended up declaring him worthy of the award. It escapes no one that having a footballer crowned with the highest individual award would mean increasing revenue and improving the brand image. Hansi, we are also very eager for this unbearable noise to end.

He had not trained as a centre-forward, but before the friendly against Basel, on August 16th, Hansi Flick told Raphinha that he would play for a while as a striker. Barça had not yet completely thrown in the towel on signing Julián Álvarez, Gabriel Jesus was, at that time, only a remote opportunity and Hamza Abdelkarim was the sensation of the pre-season. Before the friendly against the Swiss, however, the German conveyed to Raphinha that he would play "first as a nine and then as a winger". This is how the footballer explained it in a recent interview on RAC1.

Raphinha is Barça's King Midas this season. To find similar statistics, one must speak of a certain Lionel Messi. With an exhibition from the Brazilian, the blue and garnet team continues winning and continues scoring goals. And, in this case, in a complicated scenario such as Sevilla's stadium. Barça can now go on vacation now that the League is pausing.

"Dear member, I am pleased to inform you that you have been designated as a delegate of FC Barcelona". This is how the email that a few thousand members received at the beginning of July begins. A few weeks later, they received a physical card in their home mailbox that corroborated their status, with a mandate until 2028, when they will be renewed again by lottery. This September 19, many made their debut in an assembly key to the future of the club: the delegates approved an increase of 300 million in the Camp Nou remodeling project.