Barcelona have confirmed the appointment of Hansi Flick as their new head coach.
The 59-year-old German succeeds Xavi after the decision was made to part ways with the former club captain following the end of the season.
Flick, who won the treble with Bayern Munich in 2019-20, has been out of work since being sacked by Germany in September, with this role a first outside of his home country in his career. He has signed a two-year deal with Barcelona.
Sporting director Deco met Flick last week and was left impressed by the German’s clear vision of what he thinks about the squad and how he wants his team to behave on and off the pitch.
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Appointing Flick represents the completion of a wish from Joan Laporta’s 2021 presidential campaign where he said he was an admirer of the new wave of German managers including Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Flick. His planning for the summer will commence shortly, alongside Deco.
Laporta and Xavi in last month’s press conference announcing the coach would stay (Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Flick was appointed Germany head coach in August 2021 after replacing Joachim Low following the 2021 European Championship, where they were knocked out by England in the quarter-finals. His exit last September came after a run of just four wins in 16, including a group-stage exit from the Qatar World Cup.
Flick was replaced by Julian Nagelsmann, who will lead Germany at this summer’s Euro on home soil.
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In April, it was announced that Xavi would remain as Barca’s head coach following discussions with Deco, who later accompanied the 44-year-old in an emergency meeting with Joan Laporta at the club president’s personal residence. That represented a U-turn from Xavi’s announcement in January that he would leave the club at the end of the season.
As revealed by The Athletic, Xavi has written off his salary of around €11m for next season but will be reimbursed the €2.5m he paid to leave his contract with Qatari side Al Shabab early to join Barcelona in 2021. Another €4m will be paid to Xavi’s outgoing backroom staff.
Barcelona finished second in La Liga this season, 10 points behind champions Real Madrid.
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(Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
