At a glance
- Hansi Flick’s high-flyers received praise from FC Barcelona icon Pep Guardiola.
- The Catalan said that Barca 2025/2026 “is a team that makes you enjoy yourself”.
- His former ‘Dream Team’ player also had kind words for Johan Cruyff.
Hansi Flick and his impressive FC Barcelona side have received praise from the highest of corners, after Blaugrana legend Pep Guardiola said that “it’s a team that make you enjoy yourself” in comments made to Catalan TV station TV3.
The Manchester City boss revealed that “whenever I have the opportunity to see Barça, I do it with interest because I find them entertaining.”
Above all, Flick’s La Liga leaders give him an essential feeling in football which is “that of enjoying” one’s self.
“It’s a Barça that makes you enjoy yourself and when you sit in front of the TV you know that you have a good time watching the team,” Guardiola also added.
“You go to the cinema, to the theatre, to a good restaurant… You want to have a good time. And tell me once that you don’t have a good time with Barça.”
Pep also had kind words for Johan Cruyff
With March 24, 2026 marking 10 years since the Dutch idol’s passing, Guardiola also spoke about Johan Cruyff.
As Pol explored on the anniversary, it was Cruyff that pushed then-president José Luis Núñez to invest in La Masia at the turn of the 1990s.
Spotting intelligence and game reading skills in Guardiola, Cruyff then also allegedly promoted him from the youth academy despite others writing the youngster off as skinny and weak.
The midfielder then became the heart of the ‘Dream Team’ alongside greats such as Ronald Koeman and Hristo Stoichkov, as the Blaugrana won a first Champions League crown in 1992 and four consecutive La Liga titles.
While current leader Joan Laporta risked stirring a Lionel Messi controversy by calling Cruyff the “greatest player in the history of football”, Guardiola dubbed him “the most influential person there has been”.
“I have no doubt,” Guardiola added. “In Germany there was [Franz] Beckenbauer, in Brazil Pelé, in Argentina [Diego] Maradona and now Messi… There have always been great figures. But [Cruyff was] someone who transcended from player to coach, but not only in the way he plays, the system or his individual actions, but in mentality.”
Guardiola’s comments are a ringing endorsement for Flick
With Laporta comparing Flick to Cruyff himself as a manager, Guardiola’s comments are a further boost for the German.
In essence, Guardiola is giving Flick’s risky style with an extremely high defensive line a thumbs up. He himself lived and played through an era where the Cruyffista gameplan was often criticised for a perceived vulnerability to counter attacks.
While Guardiola might not adopt the blueprint himself at the Etihad, Guardiola approves of the high risk-high reward approach Flick assumes and the bravery required to keep pushing forward no matter the scoreline.
