Barcelona manager Hansi Flick speaks on Thiago Alcantara exit – leaves door open to return

Barcelona announced with little warning that Thiago Alcantara would be leaving their coaching staff on Friday, just a day before their La Liga opener with Valencia. Hansi Flick has told the ex-Bayern Munich and Liverpool midfielder that he can return when he wants.

Flick brought in Thiago on an interim basis to help with his adaptation to the club, and as someone who knew his ideas and could communicate them in both German and Spanish. He agreed to do so for the summer, but will now step down from the role.

“We have an excellent relationship since when he played in Munich. When he was in Liverpool, we were in touch. We called each other when he finished his career and I told him that he would be an excellent coach. He has helped the team and is a great person. Now he is leaving and we have Arnau, from La Masia, who is also giving us a lot of support.”

“I don’t know if Thiago will come back or not, but he can do so when he wants. Now he has to focus on the family, and see what he wants.”

Under-16 coach Arnau Blanco will replace Thiago’s role in the coaching staff, but clearly does not have the same links with Flick. The German coach was also asked whether he felt that his Barcelona squad, with only Pau Victor and Dani Olmo coming in, could compete with Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid.

“I have already answered this question before. We have a lot of quality, and I think the team is really good, lots of players with high quality, and football is about whether you win or lose. I know that my job is much easier if we win, and your job too. We prepare for each game with that in mind.”

Flick was also asked whether Andreas Christensen was more likely to be used as a defender or a midfielder at Mestalla and going forward. He was unwilling to give much away.

“I don’t want to say much about the eleven, I hope you understand that I don’t speak too much about my starting XI, because this one of the things I never do.”

“Regarding the match on Monday, we accept no excuses, but I could feel that the team was tired.”

One of the things that contributed to Xavi Hernandez’s exit was his handling of the media, and his press conferences were generally at least 25 minutes long. If Flick’s football will be aggressive, his media work will be conservative by the looks of things, with his first pre-match edition lasting ten minutes fewer than his predecessor.