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"This a long process and there is room for improvement, but in the nine years that I have been here, it is the first time that I feel inferior to Madrid. We are not in the best moment, either as a team or as a club. We must stay as close as possible and keep moving forward."
When Gerard Pique uttered these despondent words just moments after getting hammered by Real Madrid in the Super Copa - the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic season in Spain - Barcelona looked down and out of it.
Ernesto Valverde inspired no confidence while the lack of brand value amongst the summer signings stung as much as the departure of Neymar Jr. to a direct Champions League rival... half-a-season on and things couldn't be more different at the Camp Nou... In fact, they haven't lost a single game since.
Because there have been so many good performers wearing Blaugrana this season, it's hard to whittle it down to five, but here's our pick for the five best Barcelona players of the season.
#5 Sergio Busquets
The Catalan heartbeat of Barcelona looked a shadow of his old self last season, the emphasis on the 'galactico' forward line taking the ball away from Busquets' natural habitat and he suffered because he wasn't able to control the tempo of the game.
This season, Valverde has brought the focus back into the middle of the park and Busquets has reverted to his old self. The opener in the season's first El Clasico highlighted this beautifully - it was Busquets' interception and recovery followed by his graceful swanning away from three markers that freed up Rakitic and ended with Suarez smacking it into the net.
#4 Samuel Umtiti
In a world which has the patience of a gnat sitting on a gnu (which is none at all, in case you were wondering) Samuel Umtiti was already being written off after a few poor performances here and there in his initial seasons at the Camp Nou, but Barca - and Umtiti - have proved why it's good not to have knee-jerk reactions when it comes to allowing footballers to settle into their new teams.
Umtiti has been a rock in the heart of that Barca defence - and recent injury notwithstanding - has been the most impressive performer in a collective improvement from the entire backline. His presence of mind, speed, spatial awareness and growing chemistry with the ever-excellent Gerard Pique means he's also favourite to be France's first choice Centre-back at the World Cup.
#3 Paulinho
How much we all laughed... at him and Barcelona.
How much we all trolled... him and Barcelona.
From Spurs reject to a nobody in China, Paulinho was branded with all sorts of monikers and not one was a kind one.
Barcelona, though, don't run their football club based on twitter, though, and they bought Paulinho with a clear intention - toughen up a midfield that was too soft at times, ensure bodies get into the box when Barca move forward - and they based their purchase and the then exorbitant sounding €40 million price-tag off of his performances in China (where he was the best player in the league) and for Brazil (where recalled by Tite he has excelled... and top scored)
He has scored 6 times and provided 2 assists already for Barca in La Liga... in just 15 games and his brilliant running into the box has provided Barca's attack a whole new dimension.
From dud to arguably signing of the season in La Liga... not too shabby a transformation, eh?
#2 Marc-Andre Ter Stegen
Another one who has improved markedly - but this time for no apparently obvious reason - is the German shot-stopper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
While his sweeper-keeper skills have never been in question, his shot-stopping has gone onto another level this season... he, in fact, leads Europe's top five leagues for saves made percentage (as in how much % of the shots taken at him are saved) with a quite unbelievable 93%.
He simply doesn't concede easily and at times seems to win Barca matches by his lonesome - the hallmark of a great keeper.
As great as Manuel Neuer is, it is a measure of how far Ter Stegen has come that it is by no means guaranteed that Neuer will reclaim Germany's no. 1 spot in the 2018 World Cup even if he's fully fit well in time for it.
#1 Lionel Messi
Him.
Of course, it had to be him.
Lionel Andres Messi has hoisted Barcelona on his slender shoulders - told everyone to forget Neymar and the antics surrounding that drama, told everyone to forget about things like the Ballon d'Or and the controversial reign of Josep Bartomeu - and has taken them to heights no one predicted they would touch for a long time.
They are now 9 points clear of second place Atletico, 11 points clear of third place Valencia and a whopping 14 points ahead of Real Madrid... and it's the genius of this man that has gotten them there. (All due respect to Ernesto Valverde - who is an excellent coach and nothing like the novice that some entitled fans on the internet made him out to be)
He's been unstoppable - as 15 goals and 6 assists in 17 games will attest to - but as ever he's been more than what any amount of numbers can say about him.
And Barca managed to tie him down on a new contract till 2022... Forget Neymar, Gerard... Se Queda!
