Barcelona should not be taken lightly even though they are currently having financial problems. The Blaugrana remain strong candidates and they also have players who have the mentality to win. Yes, Real Madrid is always the favorite because next season their strength will also increase. I have quite a lot of respect for the La Liga contestants, every team that works hard will definitely get maximum results too. Who would have thought that Giron would be able to compete so hard at the top that they had the right to qualify for the Champions League? Football sometimes has a lot of mystery and is difficult to predict.
I don't blame people who think Barcelona have no chance of winning La Liga because of the quality of players and technical team of Real Madrid. It will take luck for a club without the right kind of players to win trophies. Barca might have some good players but this cannot be compared to what Real have in stock. La Liga is one of the most exciting leagues in Europe because they have competitive clubs, unlike the French league which had been dominated by a single club for so many years.
Girona surprised everybody with their performance at the beginning of the season. But they lost momentum as the league progressed but they were able to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. We would have to see what coach Míchel Sánchez will do with Girona next season. Atletico Madrid was also able to get a UCL slot and I guess the club will be pleased with Diego Simeone. Atletico is more interested in making a profit than winning trophies.
Perhaps Barcelona's financial situation would not have deteriorated so much if Real Madrid had adopted the same strategy in the transfer market. Real Madrid buy talented players at low prices and they develop that player well then when they sell that player they make a huge transfer fee. Most of the few transfers that Barcelona have made of late have gone in their favor at high prices, which is why their finances have deteriorated so much. They lost Lionel Messi just because they couldn't pay the wages and some players had to be bought and released as free agents. Before signing a player, they should plan several times how much they can sell the player for later or if they can make a profit on the player's transfer.