Real Madrid are hoping a stable summer will get them off to a successful start to their title defense campaign, with the new La Liga season kicking off this weekend despite Barcelona’s efforts to come back with impressive transfer deals.

The Royal Club kick off their new football career on Wednesday against Eintracht Frankfurt in the European Super Cup with the goal of a season full of titles under Italian Carlo Ancelotti following a league and Champions League double last season.

There were no major changes at the Santiago Bernabéu and there was no hint of the possibility of signing a big star to boost the attack after Frenchman Kylian Mbappé backed out of the Madrid offer and his decision to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

On the other hand, there were no major departures either, especially since the influence of Welshman Gareth Bale, Isco and Brazilian Marcelo had waned significantly before their departure.

This means Frenchman Karim Benzema and Croatian Luka Modric, who will celebrate his 37th birthday next September, will continue to wield great influence.

Ancelotti can also count on the rising clout of players such as Brazilian Vinicius, whose decisive goal was a Champions League victory against Liverpool last May, as well as his compatriot Rodrigo and France’s Eduardo Camavinga.

It’s true that no big stars have come to Madrid, but Merengue have secured two important transfer deals: French midfielder Aurélien Choumini (22) from AS Monaco for a fee of 100 million euros ($102 million) and German defender Antonio Rüdiger. (The 29-year-old came on a free transfer from Chelsea.

– Barcelona struggle to sign contracts –

Real Madrid were crowned champions of Spain by 13 points ahead of Barcelona, ​​and the difference would have been greater if the Catalan side hadn’t shown significant progress in the second half of last season.

Xavi Hernandez has already made a huge impact as a manager at the Camp Nou and a plethora of new signings led by Polish star Robert Lewandowski could help him close the gap on his archrivals.

The Leeds United winger has also joined Brazil’s Rafinha and Milan’s Ivory Coast’s Franck Kessir, although the defense looks set to improve significantly with the signing of Frenchman Jules Condé and Dane Andreas Christensen.

The problem, however, is that by the start of this week, Barcelona were unable to sign up their new players because they hadn’t raised enough money to meet the spending limits La Liga had imposed on the club.

This comes despite Barcelona’s board of directors selling assets, including a 25 percent stake in Barca Studios, which manages the club’s digital commerce and audiovisual production, to Socios.com for €100m.

The Catalan club also sold 25 percent of the league’s television broadcast rights to the US investment fund Sixth Street over the next 25 years in exchange for 400 million euros.

The deals add to a sponsorship deal with Spotify as reports surfaced in Spain on Tuesday that Barcelona would sell a further 25 percent of Barca Studios to an investment fund in exchange for €100 million in a bid to meet the Liga’s demands.

The Catalan club are pressuring their Dutch international midfielder Franke de Jong to leave in order to keep his salary.

There may be concerns about the long-term implications of these deals for the club, with a reported €1.3bn debt, but if it can sign new players, it could also be a real force to be reckoned with.

Xavi acknowledged: “We generated a lot of optimistic expectations. We also have high hopes. Our goal this year is to win titles and play good football.”

– Are they other competitors? –

If Barcelona can’t close the gap to Real Madrid, it’s unlikely that any other team can, as Atlético Madrid don’t look much stronger than they did last year when they finished third.

On the other hand, Sevilla ended last season in fourth place and qualified for the Champions League at the expense of Real Betis, who won the Copa del Rey.

It is worth noting that in the new season, Saudi Almeria will return to the top division after seven years, accompanied by Valladolid and Girona.