Barcelona bid farewell to Robert Lewandowski last weekend, and this Saturday they will also see two members of their coaching staff depart. After uncertainty over his future, it seems that Thiago Alcantara will leave the club this summer.
The 35-year-old began Hansi Flick’s first preseason as part of the coaching staff, working to aid the transition for Flick, and work as a translator across languages. However before Barcelona’s first game of the season, he returned to England for tax reasons. Last summer he returned as an ‘official’ member of the coaching staff, where he has taken on a key role mentoring players and establishing the principles of Flick’s system.
Thiago Alcantara to leave Barcelona coaching staff
However it seems that he will be leaving the club again this summer. Thiago was seen being given ‘the bumps’ by the Barcelona squad in their last training session of the season, and Flick has confirmed that he will be exiting the club.
Flick on Thiago departure – “He’s amazing, I will miss him”
Flick was asked about his exit on Friday before Barcelona’s final game of the season against Valencia, and the German manager was effusive in his praise for his former player, with the two first getting to know each other at Bayern Munich.
“I told the staff and the players about my relationship with Thiago. When I was an assistant at Bayern and then became head coach, one of the first things I had to do was bench Thiago, and it wasn’t easy for either of us because he was a world-class player. I changed the playing philosophy a bit, but his attitude, his mentality, and the way he acted were incredible.”
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“And that’s what I appreciate about working with him. He has a top-level attitude and is amazing. He’s helped me a lot here at Barca, and in the last two years, he’s been incredible. We’ll miss him, but I understand he has his own plans, and that’s good. I hope he can come back someday because we need men like him in this business.”
Further potential changes in Barcelona coaching staff
Thiago may not be the only exit from the Barcelona staff this summer, with match analyst Dr. Stephan Nopp also reportedly to leave the club. There has been some reporting that Flick would like to bring in another fitness coach for next season too, in order to address Barcelona’s injury issues.
