Barcelona are searching for Xavi's successor - and might just have landed on their perfect replacement
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Barcelona have contacted a surprise treble-winning manager to replace Xavi at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Current incumbent Xavi announced at the weekend that he would be stepping down as Barcelona manager at the end of the season, leaving the club searching for the next boss to step into the dugout.
A number of targets have been linked with the role, including departing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and out-of-work Jose Mourinho, but it's another treble-winner that could be preferred in Catalonia.
Xavi announced he would step down at the end of the season (Image credit: Getty Images)
According to SportBild journalist Christian Falk, Barcelona sporting director Deco contacted Hansi Flick in the past week on behalf of club president Joan Laporta.
Deco made Barcelona's interest in Flick clear, highlighting that he is among the shortlist of candidates to succeed Xavi.
Bildpreviously reported that Barcelona were keen on replacing former manager Ronald Koeman with Flick in late 2021, but had to settle for Xavi after Flick made clear his intention to continue with Germany.
Flick won the treble with Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season, lifting the Bundesliga title, Champions League trophy and DFB-Pokal - despite having only taken over the club in October that season. During their run to the treble, Bayern even inflicted a 8-2 defeat on Barcelona in the Champions League.
Barcelona have approached Flick (Image credit: Getty Images)
The German boss added another few trophies to his cabinet, including the Club World Cup, before leaving in June 2021 to become the new manager of the German national team.
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He lasted a lot shorter than expected in that role, though, being dispensed of his duties in September last year after the German FA grew concerned with results ahead of hosting Euro 2024. In doing so, Flick became the first-ever Germany manager to be sacked. A group stage elimination at World Cup 2022 didn't help his reputation, with a 4-1 friendly defeat against Japan signalling the end of his tenure.
Flick has been out of management since then, waiting for the right opportunity to take. There will be a number of key jobs in Europe available by the summer, though, with Barcelona and Liverpool already confirmed at this early stage.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
