Barcelona have announced the appointment of Hansi Flick as their new manager following the departure of Xavi.
The former Germany and Bayern Munich boss has signed a two-year contract with the club after a tumultuous few weeks at Camp Nou.
Xavi had originally announced in January that he would leave his role in the summer, before Barcelona president Joan Laporta convinced the club legend to stay in April.
However, the former Spanish midfielder then publicly criticized Barcelona’s financial position, angering Laporta, who decided to sack him last Friday.
He secured a 2-1 win in the Catalan giants’ final game of the season against Sevilla on Sunday, securing second place in LaLiga, before the final details of his departure were ironed out.
Barcelona have announced the appointment of Hansi Flick as their new manager
Flick has signed a two-year contract with the Catalan giants as he returns to the dugout
The former Germany and Bayern Munich boss replaces Xavi, who was sacked last week
Barcelona confirmed Xavi’s departure in a statement on Wednesday afternoon, in which they “thanked him and the rest of the coaching staff for their commitment, dedication and generosity, and for their help in reaching an agreement to break the contract.”
Just 23 minutes later, the Catalan giants unveiled Flick in a video on their social media channels, with the German looking at the camera before saying: ‘Cules, it’s our moment, forza Barca!’
Flick, who retired as a player in 2000, originally started his career in the dugout at regional side Victoria Bammental, where he was player-manager, before spending five years at Hoffenheim.
After subsequently becoming assistant boss at several teams including Red Bull Salzburg, Germany and Bayern Munich, he took charge of the Bavarian giants as interim manager in November 2019.
Flick excelled and was appointed permanently as he won an impressive 70 of his 86 games in charge, during which he lifted seven trophies with the club.
Flick had an astonishing record at Bayern, where he lifted seven trophies and won 70 of 86 matches
However, he was sacked by Germany last year after a disastrous group stage performance at the World Cup
This included two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League, while current Barcelona and former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski scored 103 goals in just 87 games during Flick’s tenure in Bavaria.
He was then appointed boss of Germany in 2021 after Euro 2020.
Despite going 10 matches unbeaten at the start of his tenure, Germany crashed out in embarrassing fashion during the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.
Although he initially kept his job, further damaging friendly defeats to Poland, Colombia and Japan saw him sacked.
Despite the huge opportunities that the takeover at Camp Nou brings, it won’t be an easy job for Flick as Barcelona’s highly publicized financial problems are likely to hamper his efforts to return the club to the glory days they enjoyed under Pep Guardiola . .
At Bayern, Flick enjoyed a productive relationship with Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona president Joan Laporta (left) will hope Flick is the man to bring back the glory days
After his final game in charge on Sunday, Xavi even warned of the dangers of being Barcelona boss, while also speaking about his achievements during almost three years in the role.
‘To the new manager I tell you: you will suffer.’ He said this after Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Sevilla. ‘This is a difficult job and you have to be patient.’
He added: “I don’t think our work is appreciated enough. I took over when the team was in ninth place, finished the season in second place and won the league the following season.’
Xavi guided Barca to their only LaLiga title as manager last season but struggled to match their domestic success this year as Real Madrid raced ahead to conquer the league.