Hansi Flick ‘Battling’ to Convince Barcelona Board to Keep Defender

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·16 June 2025

Hansi Flick ‘Battling’ to Convince Barcelona Board to Keep Defender

The Barcelona board are keen to facilitate the departure of Andreas Christensen this summer, but manager Hansi Flick reportedly wants the club to retain the Danish defender for 2025–26.

Christensen has made 80 appearances for Barcelona since joining the club in 2022, starting out as a key part of Xavi Hernandez’s defense. He played 53 times in La Liga while Xavi was at the helm, but his influence decreased significantly in Flick’s debut campaign due to injuries.

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Christensen played just six times in all competitions last season as a result of a significant Achilles issue and later a muscle injury. In his absence, teenager Pau Cubarsí developed an excellent relationship with Iñigo Martínez while Ronald Araujo appeared more sporadically as a rotational piece.

Despite the small role he played last season, Mundo Deportivo report that Flick is battling the board in a bid to keep Christensen. The German regards the 29-year-old as a useful depth option, but the club want to cash in this summer given that his contract expires at the end of the 2025–26 season.

Barça’s seemingly perpetual financial woes mean they don’t want to lose Christensen for nothing next summer—even if they didn’t pay a fee to bring him to Catalonia three years ago. The club are perhaps keen to rid themselves of the defender’s €13 million (£11.1 million, $15.1 million) salary including bonuses, which makes him Barça’s joint-tenth highest earner (via Capology).

The Dane is settled in Catalonia and currently isn’t interested in the reported proposals from Saudi Arabia. If he is to leave Barcelona, the 29-year-old wants to remain in Europe and a return to the Premier League has previously been touted as a potential option. However, off the back of an injury-hit season, his market has cooled in England.

Contract termination hasn’t been ruled out either, but Christensen is only expected to pursue this path if he believes there’s no route to first-team minutes next season. Flick’s willingness to retain him suggests that he has a role to play.