What Hansi Flick told Barcelona’s stars in a locked dressing room before his egos comment | OneFootball

“No egos because egos kill success. Last season we played as a team as one unit and we have to go back to this.” If the headlines were due to be written about Barcelona dropping points against Rayo Vallecano, then they were quickly scrapped in order to make room for Hansi Flick’s words.

The comments reverberated through the Spanish press, with speculation rife over who exactly he might have been referring too. With the international break following their trip to Vallecas, the German manager gave the press something to chew over for a full two weeks.

What did Hansi Flick say to the Barcelona players?

Beforehand, Flick had locked the dressing door and delivered a similar message to the Barcelona players in Vallecas, albeit with some stronger language, report The Athletic. They say that multiple players felt the message was both needed and a fair one.

Image via El Nacional

Response from Barcelona stars

The response has certainly been intriguing. Pedri, during his media duties with the Spain national team, appeared to agree with Flick that emphasis must be placed on the collective for Barcelona. However the following the day, Pedri told the press that ‘the question is better directed at him’, when asked what he thought Flick meant by it.

On the other hand, Lamine Yamal was much more brazen in disagreeing with his manager, noting that he saw issue with egos, albeit he did admit that he felt Barcelona were lacking the intensity of last year – something he commented after the Rayo draw.

Barcelona issues with the press

Above all, their work appeared to be lacking without the ball against Levante and Rayo. Barcelona’s press was easily bypassed in Vallecas, throughout the side, their pressure did not contain the same bite as it did last season. The departure of Inigo Martinez, and above all his leadership, has also been suggested as a potential issue harming Barcelona in their opening games.