Treble winning manager keen on Barcelona move despite club's interest in 45-year-old boss: Reports
Former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick is reportedly interested in joining Barcelona this summer. The former German national team head coach is believed to be an underwhelming choice with Barca Atletic boss Rafa Marquez reportedly leading the replacement wishlist.
Flick, who has previously won the sextuple, with Bayern Munich, is still keen on landing up at Barca, as per Mundo Deportivo (via Barca Universal). The 59-year-old is currently out of a job, after being sacked by Germany in September 2023.
As for Marquez, the Barca Atletic boss has won 17 games, lost eight, and drawn eight out of the 32 Primera Federacion matches. As per Barca Universal, he is being considered by the club as the favorite to take over from Xavi Hernandez, who is set to leave this summer.
Barca Universal also reported that Flick is allegedly so interested in picking up the job at Nou Camp that he has started learning Spanish. Barca, on the other hand, have put his name on the backseat due to his lack of familiarity with the club and the Spanish league, as per reports.
Barcelona knocked out of UEFA Champions League in Xavi's final season in charge
Manager Xavi Hernandez had a successful first full season (2023-24) at the club, where his team won La Liga. Things, however, have been different this time around with the Blaugranas trailing leaders Real Madrid by eight points with seven games left to play.
Barca's final realistic hope for silverware remained in Europe, where they played Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona had grabbed a 3-2 lead after the first leg at Parc des Princes and were 1-0 up at Nou Camp when things collapsed for Xavi's men.
It started with Ronald Araujo's red card, which was followed by four goals from PSG, which took the French team to the last four on a 6-4 aggregate score. PSG will face Borussia Dortmund in the semis with Xavi's reign at Barcelona now likely to end without any silverware this season.