- Manager Hansi Flick reportedly has a ‘total agreement’ with Deco and the board to stay at FC Barcelona.
- His contract currently runs until June 30, 2027, but is expected to be extended for another season until the same date in 2028.
- It was strongly reported that Flick would walk if Joan Laporta didn’t win re-election, which he did on Sunday after the Blaugrana beat Sevilla 5-2.
Barely 10 hours after Joan Laporta recorded a landslide 68% victory in the election to be reinstated as FC Barcelona president for another five years until 2031, SPORT reported that this has “cleared the way” for manager Hansi Flick to also exented his stay.
In the build up to the vote, it was strongly claimed that Flick could walk if Victor Font beat Laporta at the polls.
When replacing fired club legend Xavi Hernandez in the summer of 2024, Laporta pulled Flick out of relative obscurity after he failed miserably as German national team boss.
His appointment turned out to be a masterstroke, however, with the former Bayern sextuple winner – the only coach other than Blaugrana legend Pep Guardiola to win six trophies in a season, as the Catalan did at the Camp Nou in 2009 – delivering a domestic Spanish treble at the first time of asking.
Such success led to Flick agreeing to stay on until June 30, 2027. But SPORT’s reliable Luis Miguelsanz now reports of the coast being clear for another 12 months on top of that.
According to the Barcelona-based outlet, the agreement between Flick and the board is “total”. It should be made official in the near future, given that the elections are done and dusted and is a major coup for Laporta.
Negotiations to tie Flick down reportedly started at the end of last year. A meeting took place between the president, the manager and his agent Pini Zahavi with whom Laporta has a close relationship.
Flick preferred to put any announcement regarding his extended stay on hold until the elections were over. He was also clear that he would only carry on in the dugout if Laporta was re-elected, which could have swayed many members to vote for the charismatic chief.
Yet one interesting takeaway is that Miguelsanz believes Flick, providing he sees out the entirety of his contract, will likely walk away in 2028.
Four years leading FC Barcelona is an achievement for any manager
If Miguelsanz’s prediction runs true, lasting four years at the helm would still be an achievement in itself for Flick.
It’s more than enough time in the Spotify Camp Nou dugout, and is the tenure that Pep Guardiola barely managed despite assembling arguably the greatest club team of all time.
But even with unparalleled access, Pep’s tenure most certainly took its toll on the now-Manchester City tactician.
As a non-Catalan, Flick has an advantage. It makes him less susceptible to being consumed by the 24-hour print, TV and radio news cycle that engulfs the club, or the etorno consisting of everything connected to it.
Being eaten up by this and listening too much to what was being said about his performance ended up being predecessor Xavi Hernandez’s downfall in the end, alongside publicly criticising the institution’s post-pandemic financial handicap.
Yet thus far, Flick seems to show that he can only speak very limited castellano, or Spanish. He remains a beacon of calm during pre and post-match interviews or press conferences, apart from when he’s been riled up by refereeing decisions.
Who could take over from Flick at FC Barcelona?
Though it is impossible to predict who could be available two years from now, someone like former La Masia pupil and first team midfielder Cesc Fabregas could be an excellent shout.
A Catalan native of Arenys de Mar some 25 miles east of the city centre down the C-31 motorway, he understands the club’s inner-workings while possessing its essential ‘Barça DNA’.
Importantly as well, he is currently building an impressive CV and has his first employers from a managerial perspective, Como, in fourth place in the Italian Serie A ahead of Juventus after beating Roma 2-1 at the weekend.
Put simply, Fabregas guaranteeing Champions League qualification for a team that also contains Sergio Roberto would be one of the current European season’s biggest achievements and surprises.
