Hansi Flick’s first words after taking over as Barcelona manager

Putting an end to days of speculation, Barcelona have finally officiated the appointment of Hansi Flick.

The German tactician has signed a two-year contract with the Catalan outfit and will replace Xavi Hernandez at the end of the season.

Flick’s first words as Barcelona manager

In a short video message released by the club, Flick expressed his eagerness to get down to business: “I really want to start working for this incredible club. Since I arrived, I have seen that everyone loves this club and does everything possible for its success.”

It was reported in the past that Flick was deeply eager to take the Barcelona job. He was close to missing out when Barça reinstated their confidence in Xavi.

But an unprecedented turn of events saw the Barcelona bosses eventually lose trust in Xavi, ultimately leading to Flick’s arrival at Camp Nou.

However, one can be forgiven for wondering how Barcelona will cope with the culture change that Flick will bring to the table.

Flick, though, reiterated that his version of Barcelona will continue to play possession football. “My style of play? I like to have possession of the ball and prefer an offensive way of playing. These are the aspects that I like and we are going to work for it,” he said.

Flick has a proven track record of playing attractive, attacking football with emphasis on efficiency in front of goal. The presence of star striker Robert Lewandowski, to that end, could prove to be a pivotal factor.

However, the German is particularly looking forward to working with Barcelona’s youth players.

“Barça have one of the best youth teams in the world. In the first team there is a good mix between experienced players and talented young players,” he said.

Talking about improving the squad, the German stressed the importance of working closely with President Joan Laporta and Sporting Director Deco.

“I think we have to work to be able to improve. This is our work together with Deco and President Laporta. It is important to work as a team. We have to work together on this aspect. We have to focus on this task and I’m happy to do it with these people,” he said.

Nevertheless, Flick concluded his message with a stirring call to arms for the fans: “I really want to start this journey with you. Your support is very important and together we can achieve many things with this incredible team. Visca Barça!”

“I won some titles with Bayern Munich and I would like to follow this path in Barcelona. We can achieve many things together, this is the most important thing,” he added.

Barcelona appoint Hansi Flick as new head coach

Barcelona have appointed former German national team and Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick as head coach on a two-year contract.

Flick, who has not managed a club since being sacked by Germany in September 2023, will be tasked with reviving Barcelona’s fortunes after the Catalan side failed to win any trophies this season under Xavi Hernandez, who was dismissed on Friday.

The 59-year-old previously spent two years at Bayern Munich, winning the Champions League and back-to-back German league titles.

Xavi, a midfield great as a player at Barcelona, left after the team finished a distant second to Real Madrid in the Spanish league this season.

4 BARCELONA STARS LABELLED ‘NON-TRANSFERRABLE’ UNDER HANSI FLICK

The imminent arrival of Hansi Flick on the bench at La Liga giants Barcelona spells positive news for four headline members of the club’s squad.

Barcelona players confronted Xavi after transfer list was leaked by club insider – report

As the dust settles on Xavi Hernandez’s exit from FC Barcelona, more and more details regarding his final days at the club are starting to emerge.

As was reported earlier this month, there appears to have been a falling out between the manager and several players in the squad which might have played a part in Joan Laporta’s decision to part ways with him.

Barcelona locker room rebelled against Xavi

Indeed, as per Ramon Salmurri (h/t SPORT), some Barcelona players ended up confronting Xavi after it emerged that the manager was considering selling them in the summer.

The incident is understood to have happened during Rayo Vallecano’s visit to Montjuïc on 19 May. Xavi and his coaching staff saw a lot of frostiness coming from the players when they entered the dressing room. And they decided to ask what was going on.

The players explained the reason for their anger. And it was none other than a leak from the club in which they had been given the report drawn up between Xavi and the sporting management in which there was a list of possible departures.

The players who were singled out demanded explanations from the coach. So much so that, given the prevailing tension, the talk prior to the match focused on this issue.

Xavi urged them not to listen to the information they were receiving and reminded them that he had always been straight with the players and that this was not going to change.

Ronald Araujo was the angriest

As has already been reported, Xavi was open to sanctioning the exits of several players, with Ronald Araujo understood to be one among them, if it meant that the club could sign his intended targets.

Upon learning about that, Araujo was said to be one of the angriest in the locker room as he sought an explanation from Xavi for this development.

Xavi then explained to the Uruguayan international that he had made his continuity a priority, but that the club told him that if an offer of more than €90 million arrives, they may be obliged to accept it.

The relationship between the defender and the former manager is understood to have deteriorated considerably in the final weeks of the season.

Barcelona rule out summer move for Joshua Kimmich

Barcelona will not launch the offensive to sign 29-year-old Bayern Munich utility man Joshua Kimmich in the summer transfer window.

According to a report by Jose Alvarez on El Chiringuito TV, Joshua Kimmich will not join Barcelona in the summer transfer window. The Bayern Munich utility man has been the subject of interest from the Blaugrana for a long time. However, the Catalan giants have ruled out a move to sign the 29-year-old from the Bundesliga club in the summer transfer window.

The rise and rise of Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich has been a top-class performer for Bayern Munich since arriving from VfB Stuttgart in July 2015. A native of Rottweil, the German international has been a utility man throughout his professional career thus far due to his ability to reprise role in the backline and the midfield unit.

The 29-year-old reprised the right-back and holding midfield roles in the 2023/24 season. While Bayern Munich failed to win a trophy this past campaign and meekly relinquished the Bundesliga title, Kimmich played his part in his 43 outings, chipping in with two goals and ten assists.

However, Kimmich’s dissatisfaction with Thomas Tuchel’s methods compelled him to consider leaving Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window. Such a situation did not go unnoticed, capturing the attention of several high-profile clubs. He has also been a target for Barcelona.

Summer move beckons?

Barcelona’s interest in Joshua Kimmich is understandable. The Catalan giants are scouring the market for a midfielder heading into the summer after failing to fill the void left by the departure of Sergio Busquets last year. Oriol Romeu was a sub-par signing and will likely leave Barcelona in the coming weeks.

So, Kimmich emerged as a viable target for Barcelona. However, the Blaugrana will not launch the offensive to sign the 29-year-old utility man from Bundesliga club Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window. The Catalan giants have also ruled out a move for Bernardo Silva.

With Kimmich and Silva no longer on Barcelona’s agenda for the summer transfer window, it will be interesting to see who becomes the top midfield target for the club. However, the German international will likely remain at Bayern Munich heading into the 2024/25 season.

A potential low-cost replacement for Barcelona’s Vitor Roque – report

It is no secret that Vitor Roque’s future at Barcelona is still uncertain. The Brazilian player lost prominence under Xavi, and even though Hansi Flick’s arrival was hoped to bring positive changes, nothing has been finalised yet.

For now, Barcelona’s sporting department needs to come to an agreement with Hansi Flick about the future of the Brazilian striker.

As such, the club had planned for Roque to join early in January to help him adapt for the 2024/25 season, but this strategy did not really work as Xavi refused to use his services.

Now, no matter what decision Barcelona make, Roque’s agents have informed Deco that they will respect the club’s decision. They have no intention of creating conflict and are willing to cooperate fully to make the transition smooth.

However, if Barcelona decide to let Roque go in the summer, they will need to find a replacement as the team cannot rely solely on Robert Lewandowski for the entire season.

How about Alvaro Morata?

Finding a replacement, though, won’t be easy, but Barcelona could consider Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata.

He is once again rumoured to be leaving Atletico in the summer and reports suggest that Atletico will demand €15 million – hos release clause – to let the Spanish national team captain go.

So far, Atletico Madrid have not received any offers for Morata, who scored 21 goals this season. However, if Barcelona resolve Roque’s situation soon, they could pursue him as he has been linked with the team in the past.

It is worth noting that Morata has also attracted significant interest from Italian teams like Juventus, Roma, and Napoli. This means that if Barcelona are serious about acquiring him, they need to act quickly.

In summary, the situation with Vitor Roque at Barcelona is debatable. While his agents are willing to cooperate with the club, Barcelona must decide whether to keep him or look for a replacement like Alvaro Morata.

However, if they are to look for the latter options, they need to move fast, especially with other teams showing interest in Morata.

Barcelona’s ‘top choice’ to replace Xavi revealed – and it wasn’t Hansi Flick

Barcelona wanted former boss Luis Enrique to replace head coach Xavi this summer instead of Hansi Flick, according to a report.

The Catalan giants are set to appoint former Bayern Munich boss Flick as their new manager, just weeks after announcing plans for Xavi to remain in charge.

Xavi first revealed his intention to step down at the end of the season back in January following a poor run of form and a difficult summer 2023 transfer window. The club later convinced him to stay for another year before making the shock decision to part ways in May.

Flick has recently appeared as the frontrunner, but a report from Sport confirms that Paris Saint-Germain’s Enrique was the first man Barca wanted for the job.

Luis Enrique

Enrique was identified as their main target in February, shortly after Xavi first announced his desire to leave the club. He became a notable option for sporting director Deco, but as he is under contract at PSG until 2025, a return was not seen as viable and they switched targets instead.

Flick was viewed as the more easily attainable option, with the 59-year-old keen to walk back into management after becoming the first Germany coach to be sacked since the role was created in 1926.

Enrique has, of course, been on the touchline at Barca before, leading them from 2014 to 2017. He won the Champions League, two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey and a UEFA Super Cup while in charge of the Catalan side, becoming one of the club’s most successful managers. His PSG also eliminated Xavi’s Barcelona from this season’s Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

Xavi’s final game in charge of Barcelona came in their La Liga curtain-closer on Sunday, winning 2-1 away at Sevilla.

Xavi dismissed by Barcelona after plan to sell star player – report

Xavi’s desire to part ways with striker Robert Lewandowski contributed to his departure from Barcelona, a report has claimed.

Public comments about the club’s transfer strategy ultimately saw Xavi relieved of his duties earlier this month, just weeks after Barcelona officials convinced him to reverse his decision to step down at the end of the season.

While Xavi’s comments are believed to be at the heart of the dispute, SPORT claim that his desire to sign a new striker to replace Lewandowski played a huge role in his exit.

It is claimed that Xavi and his staff felt 35-year-old Lewandowski was no longer a good fit at the top of his team and instead wanted a youngster striker with more energy and an ability to involve himself in the team’s build-up.

Xavi is also said to have taken issue with Lewandowski’s attitude towards younger players behind the scenes, believing he was not a suitable mentor at a club which focuses on developing homegrown talents.Robert Lewandowski, Vitor Roque

President Joan Laporta and his associates were, therefore, left disappointed to see Xavi so publicly dismiss Vitor Roque, who ESPN claim the boss actually wanted to offload if he remainded this summer.

Roque and Lewandowski were both being lined up for summer exits, while Xavi also did not want Barcelona to retain the services of loanees Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.

Xavi admitted publicly that the Barcelona squad needed several signings to be able to compete in both La Liga and the Champions League, challenging the club to finance another expensive summer despite their well-known financial issues.

Taking his place will be former Germany and Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick, who coached Lewandowski to 83 goals in just 71 games during his time in the German capital.

Barcelona teen Lamine Yamal wins La Liga’s Young Player of the Year Award

Barcelona’s talented teenager Lamine Yamal has been named La Liga’s Best Under-23 Player of the Season for the 2023-24 campaign.

It’s no surprise at all to see Yamal pick up the award after a season where he’s cemented his place in the first team and become a key player despite his tender years.

Yamal ends the season having played an incredible 50 games for Barcelona in all competitions, bagging seven goals and seven assists along the way.

He won Goal of the Month back in March for his brilliant effort against Mallorca which turned out to be the winner for the Catalans.

La Liga’s Player of the Season award went to Jude Bellingham after an impressive campaign with Los Blancos following his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, Girona boss Michel was named Manager of the Year after guiding his team into the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

Barcelona will insert buyback clause for 19-year-old starlet if he is sold this summer

Hansi Flick is expected to officially pen his contract with Barcelona tomorrow, and thus, take upon himself the brunt of the club’s rebuild.

As advised by Xavi on his way out, the German tactician will not have it easy in Catalonia, especially given the club’s finances. The situation undoubtedly will force Flick to turn to the academy regularly, and his keen interest in La Masia comes as a boon.

One particular player from the subsidiary team who has been making ripples in recent teams in a certain Mikayil Faye, and the new manager will have a key role in deciding what the future has in store for the Senegalese centre-back.

Clashing ideas

As revealed in a recent report by SPORT, Faye’s future is one of the big decisions to be made this week. Needless to say, multiple options are being considered.

Barcelona’s sporting director Deco is said to be of the idea of promoting the player to the first team given his quality, and that would be the ideal solution for the club.

The team’s surplus centre-back options, however, render it difficult to bring in another player for the overstaffed position. After all, Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez are all fighting for two spots as it stands.

Faye’s departure in June is thus not completely ruled out. In such a scenario, the Catalans do not wish to lose leverage over the player’s future and will thus sell him only with a repurchase option. There are numerous offers on Faye’s table as it stands.

Flick to decide

The options around Faye’s future are open, and the new manager Hansi Flick will have to make the final call on whether or not to ship the player this summer. A lot will depend on whether or not the club make big sales in defence next month.

The coming pre-season could also be critical in altering the manager’s decision over Faye, for it will give Flick his first chance to evaluate all his options first-hand.

Given his interest in honing young talents and providing them with the required stepping stones, it will not be surprising if Flick opts to sell an established centre-back and count on Faye in his place next season.