Flick expresses his concern about the registration of new Barcelona signings
Barcelona’s coach, Hansi Flick, has expressed his discontent with the delay in registering new signings Joan García and Marcus Rashford, just days before the start of LaLiga against Mallorca. García’s situation should be resolved soon, following LaLiga’s authorization for the club to allocate 80% of Marc-André ter Stegen’s salary, who will be out for more than four months due to a back operation, to a substitute. According to sources, Barcelona’s board is willing to offer a bank guarantee of 7 million euros to generate space in the salary limit and register Rashford. In addition, the club has raised around 11 million euros after selling the remaining 50% of Francisco Trincão’s rights to Sporting CP, who left the team in 2023. However, despite these movements, the registrations of both players are still pending.The need to have Rashford increases due to the possible absence of Robert Lewandowski, who is doubtful for the match against Mallorca. The English striker, on loan for a season from Manchester United, is one of the options to replace Lewandowski in attack, along with Ferran Torres. Flick also confirmed that Joan García, signed for 25 million euros from Espanyol, will be the starting goalkeeper ahead of Wojciech Szczesny and Ter Stegen.“One can imagine that I am not happy with that, but I know the situation and I believe in the club. We have to wait until tomorrow. I think it was the same situation last season. We focus on what we can change, what we have in our hands and, as for the other things, I believe in the club”.
Hansi Flick
Although the arrivals of García and Rashford strengthen Barcelona, the team has weakened in defense after the unexpected departure of Iñigo Martínez to Saudi football this week. Martínez was a key player in winning LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup last season, and Flick regretted his move to Al Nassr. “I was a little surprised, but I could totally understand it. I’m not happy that he’s gone because he was a fantastic player. He has a great personality. He was one of the leaders. I really appreciate having been the coach this last season here because he was exceptional for me, not only as a player, but also as a person in the locker room.” The challenge for Flick in his second season at Barcelona is different from the previous one. After winning three titles and reaching the Champions League semi-finals, the pressure to maintain success is high.“It’s a decision by everyone at the club to sign Joan because he is the future of the club. From what I’ve seen in training, he’s a great goalkeeper. And, for me, Szczęsny is the right person behind him because he has a lot of experience and also supports him a lot.”
Hansi Flick
“We started our mission last season and want to continue. When you win three titles, it’s not the end. It’s like progress. Progress is that we also continue. We are focused and want to win every game. It’s about winning. I think we are on the right track, but we also know that the rivals are very good in LaLiga and we have to give our best. It’s always about the results in the end. I think we have the quality to be a better team, but it depends on the results. The most important thing is that we have a deep belief in our mission, in our style, in how we want to play. Everyone has to have confidence in themselves about these things”.
Hansi Flick
