European season begins with Mourinho's fight to avoid Barcelona's treble

Although Atlético de Madrid has established itself as a good third force - it is the only one to have broken the Real/Barça hegemony in the last 20 years, on two occasions -, the dispute once again looks like a fight between two teams. And Barcelona is playing to become national champions for the third time in their history.

Champion in 2024/25 and 2025/26, the team led by German Hansi Flick is once again a great candidate for the title. Although it lost relevant offensive pieces, with the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford, the board sought to make up for the losses with the arrivals of Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon.

The board of the Azul-Grená association is still looking for two impactful signings, although the negotiations are not easy. The idea is to remove striker Julián Álvarez from Atlético and get midfielder Rodri, now a Manchester City player, who led Spain to win the World Cup and was voted the best player of the tournament.

Rodri was joined at the World Cup by several Barcelona players, such as Cubarsí, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal. Ferran Torres, it seems, is on his way to Paris Saint-Germain, but, in any case, there will be no shortage of athletes in the Catalan squad with a recent star on their CV.

"Champions never stop. They know how to win championships, that's very important. This title gives them more confidence. When you work hard and with focus every day, it ends up becoming something special. That's what we want this season, that's what we're looking for," said Flick.

To disrupt this plan, Real Madrid threw its chips into an old acquaintance, José Mourinho. The renowned Portuguese coach, who led the White club from 2010 to 2013 and spent the last few seasons with teams that are not part of the European top shelf - Roma, Fenerbahçe and Benfica -, is back.

Known for a rigid style, he is the bet of a team that experienced a dysfunctional 2025/26 season, full of internal problems. Carlo Ancelotti's replacement, Xabi Alonso did not get along with the players and was replaced by interim Álvaro Arbeloa, who did not prevent episodes such as the aggression committed by Aurélian Tchouaméni against Federico Valverde.

"I'm here to help everyone become better, creating a culture of work, responsibility, ambition and something I know well: the responsibility and honor of working for Real Madrid. It's not about working at Real Madrid; it's about working for Real Madrid. It's with that spirit, with that mission, that I'm here," said the coach.

The cast, which already had names like Thibaut Courtouis, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappé, became even more starry. The white board went shopping and handed over Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konaté, Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Yan Diomande and Carlos Espí to the new commander. The other leagues will start in the coming weeks. In England, the Premier League has its first round scheduled for the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of August. After breaking a 22-year fast, Arsenal will defend the title reinforced by Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães, taken from Newcastle for 75 million pounds (R$ 530.9 million).

In the qualified English competition, there are multiple challengers to the current champion, such as Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea. Manchester City also wants to return to the top, as it begins a new era: after ten years under the command of Spaniard Pep Guardiola, with 20 titles, the team is now led by Italian Enzo Maresca.

The dispute in Italy will also begin on the 22nd. Champion Inter Milan maintained its base and emerges as one of the favorites for the shield, for which Napoli, Roma, Milan, Juventus and Atalanta will fight. In Germany, whose competition will open on the 28th, Bayern's advantage is once again undeniable, having won 13 of the last 14 editions.

France also has an outstanding favorite, Paris Saint-Germain, current two-time European champion. The team led by Spaniard Luis Enrique has already started the 2026/27 season by lifting a cup, the European Super Cup, with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. This Sunday (16), they will face Lens in the French Super Cup. And on the 23rd he will begin his journey in the French Championship.

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