Barcelona midfielder Gavi has said he isn’t surprised that Real Madrid are “worried” about the Catalan giants heading into the new season.
Barça won all four of their games against Madrid last season, dominating the domestic campaign.
“Of course they’re worried,” Gavi told Diario As. “We won four out of four [Clásicos] and that’s never happened before. It’s logical that they’re worried. At the end of the day, we were spectacular last season and they didn’t win anything.”
Barça lifted LaLiga, the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, defeating rivals Madrid in both cup finals.
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Madrid ended last season without a major trophy for the first time since 2021.
They have reinforced their defensive line by bringing Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool, Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth and Álvaro Carreras from Benfica.
Los Blancos, under new coach Xabi Alonso, who replaced the departed Carlo Ancelotti, have also signed Argentinian teenage playmaker Franco Mastantuono from River Plate.
“This year they’ve have gotten stronger with some very good players, to be honest,” Gavi said. “But we’ll see what they do this coming season. They have a great team but we have to be ourselves and that’s it.”
Barça have also bolstered their squad.
England forward Marcus Rashford has arrived on a season-long loan from Manchester United while goalkeeper Joan García and teenage winger Roony Bardghji have joined on permanent transfer from Espanyol and Copenhagen, respectively.
“I’m convinced that Garcia and Rashford will contribute a lot,” Gavi said. “Roony [Bardghji] is also doing quite well. I hope they give us their best so we can win all the titles. I’m happy with Marcus’ arrival because he’s an impressive player.”
Barça will continue to rely on the magic of Lamine Yamal. The Spanish teenage forward scored twice in his team’s 7-3 win against FC Seoul in Thursday’s Asia Tour game.
“He’s an incredible player,” Gavi said of Yamal. “He gets better every day. He’s amazing in training. He has to keep it up, with that mentality, and I’m sure that if he doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or this year, he’ll win many in the future.”
