That time has now come, but that fear appears to have subsided. Barça slowly but surely learned to live without Xavi last season. That said, even with an in-form Messi, the Catalans' playing style was difficult to understand without him. He was the man who marshaled every aspect of their midfield game: passing, possession, one-twos...
Luis Enrique made a huge decision about a year ago: to ration Xavi's first-team football. In other words, put together a Barça side in which Hernández was no longer a key player. The Catalans' starting XI would no longer be Xavi, Messi and nine others. Xavi would be reserved for key moments out on the pitch.
The Barça boss's plan went exactly according to plan. He pulled off a triple-winning season with Xavi, but also without Xavi, after the midfielder only started 19 out 31 games in the league and 2 out of 10 in the Champions League.
Xavi's departure sets the stage for this new-look Barça team as they look to continue their quest to win six titles in a single calendar year, adding the European and Spanish Super Cups, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup to their already impressive haul.
This season we should see what can finally be described as Luis Enrique's Barcelona, begging Messi's pardon. The Argentine is still the star of all the magic they do out on the pitch.
Before, all the build-up was generated with Xavi at the centre. Now, Messi has taken over some of this scaffolding work prior to the killer moment. The Argentine is more and more showing himself to be an all-fielder, a man of many talents who can show off his customary magic from the right wing but is at his most deadly in front of goal. Messi can happily play the role of a midfielder preparing his team for the attack and then often pops up as the man to finish the job off.
The team's strength is based on the same strategies as last year's. Nothing we have seen so far suggests that Luis Enrique is going to surprise us with anything new and adopt a whole new line-up. Of course, there will be the usual rotations that the manager relies on to keep his players fresh. Some may even enjoy more minutes this season, but Barça still have their core team, the starting XI that he looks to for the big games.
What is a complete enigma is how the new faces at Barça will perform after having had to sit out all the club's games for the next seven months. If what we have heard from Luis Enrique himself is anything to go by, they should be called up pretty well immediately. Arda will probably be charged with a more attacking role than he had at Atlético, especially if Pedro ends up leaving. Aleix Vidal may be fielded as a right-back or out on the right wing.
The players had a hard time of it taking on board what their new manager was asking of them. It took them almost half a season to understand what was wanted of them and finally adapt to Luis Enrique's new system. But when at last they did, the efforts were rewarded with great football and a truckload of goals. This time round, the 'Azulgranas' will know what to do from the word go.
With Suárez now fully settled into his new club, it is to be expected that the three forwards will link up even better this season and that the Uruguayan will prove to be much more effective. With Xavi gone, Messi will continue to be decisive in helping organise the moves on the rivals' goal as well as being there to finish them off.
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