LAST UPDATE | 29 May
BARCELONA APPOINTED former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick as coach on Wednesday on a deal which runs until June 2026, after sacking Xavi Hernandez last week.
“FC Barcelona and Hansi Flick have reached an agreement for the German to become men’s first team football coach until 30 June 2026,” the club said in a statement.
“The new coach has signed a contract at the Club’s offices accompanied by FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta.”
Flick, who led German giants Bayern to a historic sextuple of trophies in 2020, became the first coach ever to be sacked by the German national team in September 2023 after a string of bad results.
However, Barcelona believe they have secured the services of a “champion coach”.
“By bringing Hansi Flick as coach, FC Barcelona have chosen a man well-known for his teams’ high pressing, intense and daring style of play which has brought him great success at club level and international level, winning pretty much all there is to win in the world of football,” read the club statement.
The 59-year-old occasionally watched Barcelona matches this season from the presidential box and was linked with the job after Xavi said, in January, that he would depart at the end of a campaign in which they finished runners-up to Real Madrid in La Liga.
Barcelona and Xavi decided jointly he would stay for next season after all in April but then Laporta changed his mind and sacked the former midfield great last week.
“It won’t be easy at all — they will suffer and they will need patience because it’s a really difficult job,” Xavi warned his successor last week after winning his final match in charge against Sevilla in La Liga.
“The only thing that can save them is winning, whether they have been part of the club or not.”
As well as seeing Madrid win back the Spanish title, Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Paris Saint-Germain.
Spanish media said Laporta was enraged by Xavi’s comments earlier in May when he highlighted the economic difficulties Barca had when competing against Real and Europe’s other elite clubs.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich named Vincent Kompany as the new coach of the German giants on a three-year contract in a surprise move.
Kompany, 38, joins Bayern despite seeing his Burnley team relegated from the Premier League this season.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of FC Bayern. It’s a great honour to be able to work for this club – FC Bayern is an institution in international football,” said Kompany in a club statement.
“I’m now looking forward to the basics: working with the players, building a team. Once the basis is right, success will follow.”
Kompany’s hiring brings to an end Bayern’s exhaustive search for a replacement for Thomas Tuchel after the club’s first trophyless season in 12 years.
Bayern announced that Tuchel would depart at the end of the season in February after falling behind eventual champions Bayer Leverkusen in the title race.
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann and Austria manager Ralf Rangnick all reportedly turned down Bayern’s interest.
After taking over at Burnley in July 2022, Kompany led the Clarets to promotion from the second-tier Championship in his first season in charge.
They struggled with the step up to the Premier League, winning just five games and registering 24 points — the club’s lowest top-flight tally in their history.
However, Kompany retained the backing of his old coach at Manchester City Pep Guardiola, who advised his former club to go for the Belgian.
“Vincent Kompany is the type of coach who fits in very well with FC Bayern’s playing philosophy and identity,” said sporting director Christoph Freund.
“He’s a young, very ambitious coach with a lot of international experience.
“He his finger on the pulse when it comes to the players and knows exactly what needs to happen on the pitch. He can and will give our team an enormous amount.”
Kompany has Bundesliga experience, having played at Hamburg for two seasons early in his playing career and his ability to speak German was seen as a major benefit for the Bayern board.
Burnley will reportedly receive £10 million ($13 million) in compensation for allowing their manager to leave.
“Whilst we were initially confident in retaining our manager, the changing dynamics of the situation made this impossible,” Burnley said in a statement.
“We understand the allure and prestige of a club like Bayern Munich and respect Vincent’s ambition to explore new opportunities.”
