Preseason can be a cruel mistress. It seemingly gives you so much but in reality, it’s mostly just an illusion; a mirage of what you want to be true rather than what is true. So we’ve learned over the years not to trust it. Disregard it, even. But preseason has its value too. It is somewhat vague, sure, but it exists nonetheless.

Still, a general rule of thumb is never to reveal all your cards during preseason so hopefully we’ve not seen the best Xavi has to offer in 2023/34 just yet. But what exactly have we seen, then?

Let’s have a closer look.