‘He was very happy’… Alex Valle opens up on his conversation with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick last summer | OneFootball

When FC Barcelona appointed Hansi Flick last summer, there was uncertainty about what direction the German coach would take. But even from pre-season, Flick made one thing clear: La Masia would play a central role in his vision.

Flick, even during pre-season, showed his cards early on, that he was going to place a lot of trust in La Masia. His first job was to promote Marc Casado and Marc Bernal to the first team, and pre-season also saw other talents like Gerard Martin and Alex Valle get a chance.

Valle’s pre-season promise

Valle was given a chance to play on the right side of defence, a role in which he thrived in during pre-season. However, with Martin looking fixed as the left-back backup, the 21-year-old Spaniard chose to leave the club to join Scottish club Celtic on loan.

Alex Valle showed a lot of promise last pre-season. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Valle spent the first half of the season at Celtic, but then moved on to Como, where he played the second half of the season under Cesc Fabregas. His performances were impressive and unsurprisingly, the Serie A club triggered a €6m option to buy him permanently.

After his move, the 21-year-old has opened up on his conversation with Hansi Flick last summer that prompted him to leave on loan in search of minutes. As quoted by SPORT, here is what he said:

“He told me that he was very happy with me, said I had performed well, and that he thought it was a good idea for me to stay and fight for the right-back spot. I told him that I loved his style of play: aggressive, dynamic, vertical… but I also said that I thought I would have more opportunities as a left-back and that I had the option of joining Celtic. It was a calm and honest conversation.”

Flick’s transparency

Hansi Flick is an excellent man manager. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Valle’s words highlight how transparent a manager Hansi Flick is. The German coach was honest about the role he had in mind for the Spaniard and Valle made the decision to move elsewhere to continue his career in his favored left-back role.

In doing so, the 21-year-old made a decision that not many La Masia players are courageous enough to make. Valle has enjoyed a brilliant season and things only look brighter for him in the upcoming seasons under Cesc Fabregas.

Now thriving at Como, the 21-year-old has carved out a promising future. While we’ll never know what might have been had he stayed to challenge Gerard Martin, what’s certain is that Valle made the right choice for his development and his journey is only just beginning.