Barcelona making moves early! Blaugrana hold ‘concrete talks’ with Hansi Flick to succeed Xavi in the summer

Xavi has announced his intention to leave the club in the summer and Barcelona are subsequently searching for a replacement. Florian Plettenberg of Bild reports that the club have already held "concrete talks" with Flick about becoming their new manager. He has been out of work since he was sacked from his role as Germany boss in 2023.

Flick has never managed in Spain but he has oodles of experience, having previously managed Victoria Bammental, Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich and Germany. During his time in Bavaria, he won the Bundesliga twice, the DFB-Pokal and the Champions League, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

Barca are enduring a difficult season and sit third in La Liga, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid. They are still in the Champions League but will need to win this week if they are to progress to the quarter-finals; they drew 1-1 with Napoli in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.

Barca's next outing comes against Athletic Club in La Liga on Sunday evening. They will then face Napoli in the Champions League in midweek.