Hansi Flick wants to think twice

BarcelonaIn a few weeks it will be five years since Hansi Flick's surprising resignation from the Bayern Munich bench. In April 2021, just eight months after winning a treble – including a 2-8 victory over Messi's Barça – with the Bavarians, and despite having a contract secured until 2023, the coach announced he would not continue in the role due to deep disagreements with the club's sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, who made a series of decisions he did not like, such as not renewing Thiago Alcántara or Ivan Perisic.

After saying he was resigning, Flick revalidated the Bundesliga and went on to manage the German national team without success, as he was sacked due to a premature elimination in the Qatar World Cup (2022). He opted for Die Mannschaft leaving Bayern instead of answering the call from Joan Laporta, who had just taken office as president of Barça and had doubts about Ronald Koeman, then head coach at Camp Nou.

It is worth providing this context to confirm that five years ago Flick – and not Xavi Hernández, Barça's coach between November 2021 and May 2024 – was already the current president-elect's favorite to lead the first team. It also serves to verify that the now coach of Lamine Yamal did not hesitate to suddenly leave a winning project at Bayern, something that currently seems unthinkable at Barça. The difference speaks well of his rapport with the current culé sporting director, Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco, with whom he gets along better than with Salihamidzic.

Flick embodies the most evident consensus around a coach since Pep Guardiola. So much so that he would still have credit even if he did not win the league and was eliminated in the next round of the Champions League. He is directly responsible for the renewed enthusiasm since he took over the team in July 2024 and made them treble winners (Super Cup, Cup, and League) in less than a year. Aware of this great impact, and also as a token of gratitude for having helped him revalidate the presidency of Barça, Laporta wants to reward him with one more year of contract.

Flick, who past 60 is now barely living through the longest and most stable period on a top-tier bench, is secured until 2027. The German appreciates the intentions of his main supporter, but understands that now is not the time to sign an extension, but rather to focus all efforts on the season's conclusion. While he is delighted in Barcelona and at the club, he feels comfortable with a short contract. "I'm not going anywhere, this will be my last job, but first I must speak with my family," he stated a few days ago, in line with waiting to commit for 12 more months, until he is 63 years old. He enjoys managing talents like Lamine Yamal, Pedri, or Cubarsí, but also feels that high-performance football makes him miss special moments, such as spending more time with his four grandchildren.

Between Quique Setién and Bobby Robson

The Barça coach still needs room to see when the ideal moment is to start living longer seasons in his Formentera home or to visit his beloved Bammental more often. Renewing for another year appeals to him, but at the same time, it commits him. Furthermore, if he decides to sign, he also needs to improve some aspects of his day-to-day as a coach, such as physical preparation and injury prevention for his players, a topic that has caused him many headaches, especially this season. Crucial footballers like Raphinha, Eric García, or Lamine Yamal have internally expressed complaints for this reason, and he feels he has to fight for them when negotiating a strategic extension. It should be remembered that Flick could only bring in three trusted coaches and two scouters when he arrived at Barça. The rest of the staff was already in place, composed of club men and personnel trusted by Deco and Alejandro Echevarría.

In parallel to the end of the campaign, it is expected that representative Pini Zahavi will hold meetings to discuss the coach's continuity beyond 2027. The same agent will be the interlocutor to talk about Robert Lewandowski's probable renewal and Marcus Rashford's possible stay in the squad. Barça will have to agree on up to three operations with the same person, with whom Laporta shared business in the recent past. The coming weeks will be key to finalizing Flick's intentions, who is about to surpass Quique Setién in the ranking of veteran Barça coaches and is getting closer each day to Bobby Robson, who managed the Barça team at 64 years old. The German will be the master of his future. And when he decides he's had enough, the current sports commission has a successor in mind who knows the club perfectly. He hasn't turned 40, works at Italy's Como and goes by the name of Francesc Fàbregas i Soler.