The way this season  started, many had Barcelona out of the Champions League for next year. They finished third in their Champions League group, lagged heavily in La Liga, and generally looked poor. Then, Xavi took over and they blossomed into a wonderful team playing that world-famous Barcelona football. They are in the top four of La Liga and are pitted as favorites to win the Europa League. However, this just might be a blimp of optimism that followed an atrocious time. To stay relevant, they need a direction and they need it fast. Here are three ways Barcelona can be back to the top of Europe next season.

Return to the top for Barcelona 

Continue trusting the youngsters 

In November 2012, there was an occurrence that is incredibly rare in modern football. Barcelona played Levante away from Camp Nou and after Dani Alves was subbed out early and Martin Montoya was brought in, their entire 11 on the field were graduates of the famous La Masia. The school of football that gave us Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, and many more was somewhat forgotten, as the Barcelona front office decided to move toward proven players. That has been labeled as a total miss, as huge money signings of Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, and Philippe Coutinho mostly disappointed. Under Xavi, however, it seems like a return to the basics is on the docket.

Of course, they still have some players brought in. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres, and Adama Traore all arrived during the season and they are always playing. There is also Frenkie De Jong, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Sergino Dest, all players brought in from other clubs.

However, their crop of La Masia graduates is really what sparked their season. Pedri is there and he is slowly becoming one of the best midfielders in the world. Nico Gonzalez and Gavi are getting regular minutes and so would Ansu Fati, if he was not injured. There are also guys like Ez Abde and Eric Garcia, all players who could and should be the future of Barcelona if they want to come back to the top.

Be smart with the money 

It was recently reported that Barcelona got a massive injection of money from Spotify, which is going to help them through a true financial crisis caused by poor management. However, we all remember the last huge injection of money Barcelona got. They got over €200 million for Neymar in 2017 from PSG, but spent all of it on poor signings and gave some huge deals to players who really did not deserve it even at that time.

That all led to losing Lionel Messi in the summer to PSG, and a transfer window where Barca was looking mostly for loans and players available out of contract. With this recent sponsorship money, Barcelona will be a threat on the market again, but if they are not smart, they could be a larger threat to themselves.

They are reportedly interested in Erling Haaland and also possibly even interested in Kylian Mbappe. Now, both of these guys are elite players and wherever they end up, they could be the best players in the world. However, neither really works with Barcelona's style of play, which is more suited to build-up plays and a lot of midfield passes. Haaland is a classic poacher, while Mbappe operates best in open space.

If they decide to chase any of these two players, they might spend a lot of money that they only got recently and end up mismanaging again. They should target free transfers and players who can help them in areas of need, such as getting some help in the center of the defense and possibly finding a player to replace Busquets as he is getting up in age.

Give Xavi time 

Xavi executed a massive turnaround this season with this Barcelona squad. He took them over when they were ninth in the table, something that we are likely not going to see again. He has been getting the best out of every player on the roster, even getting Ousmane Dembele, embroiled in a tense contract situation with the Barcelona board, to finally produce on a massive level. The Barcelona DNA is visible in this team and since the only thing that really changed was the coach, we can say that is Xavi's work.

However, next season could mean issues.

The problem with young squads is that they are volatile. Sure, they are doing great now, but one or two poor results could end up being a crisis, and while they have hesitated with Ronald Koeman for a very long time, the Barcelona board might look to replace Xavi if he is not performing on this level, which is not sustainable.

Thus, if Barcelona wants to come back to the highest of highs in Europe, what they need to do is regain the stability of the squad. That is done best by just making sure that Xavi has the reins, even if there are crises in the future. He is Barcelona personified and they have no one to thank but him for the massive turnaround this season. If he is given time, he will rebuild Barcelona and make them a perennial Champions League contender once again.