BARCELONA
Report says Hansi Flick ‘interested in the Barcelona job’ and already learning Spanish
The German coach is said to be keen on succeeding Xavi after he leaves at the end of the current campaign.
Hansi Flick continues to position himself as a leading candidate to take over the FC Barcelona bench in the summer.
The former coach of the German National Team was quickly touted as a possible successor to Xavi Hernández when the Spanish manager announced that he would step down at the end of the season. Now, German newspaper BILD have reported that a move to the Camp Nou would be very much to the liking of Flick, who is already working on his language skills and learning Spanish.
“Barcelona have indicated to him that he is on the shortlist. He would like to coach Barcelona, he was even on vacation in Spain recently. In addition, he is learning Spanish, which is another sign that it would be a challenge he would like to accept”, were the words of journalist Christian Falk during a live broadcast on the online version of the German media outlet.
Flick came close to Barça job in 2021
It should be remembered that Hansi was already very close to becoming coach back in 2021 and held a videoconference with Joan Laporta to discuss the matter, but ended up rejecting the offer of the Catalan team.
As a result, Xavi was the chosen one when it came to finding a replacement for the outgoing Ronald Koeman. Now Flick, the coach who inflicted the historic 2-8 defeat of Barcelona in 2020, is closer than ever to the Camp Nou.
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Xavi made public his decision to leave the club after the team’s 3-5 defeat to Villarreal at Montjuïc. Since then, they have beaten Osasuna 1-0 as well as getting past Alavés 1-3 at Mendizorroza earlier in the month. Rumours have swirled around possible Barcelona coaches since the news broke, with potential candidates ranging from perhaps likely to near-impossible.
Former player Rafa Márquez was one of the early names to emerge, as were LaLiga peers García Pimienta and Míchel, at Las Palmas and Girona, respectively (although both are unlikely as things stand). Thiago Motta is another potential option, while Jürgen Klopp, given Barcelona’s financial position, is on the list of unlikely prospects to be on the bench next season. For now, however, the side have to try and finish the season on a high with Xavi.