Flick surprises Barcelona in summer with ‘exceptional’ decision

Barcelona officially closed the curtain on the 2025-2026 season as German coach Hans Flick held his final training session last Friday before the team enter a nearly two-month long summer break that will not see the players face off until mid-July.

Various holidays

Barcelona’s players are currently either on holiday or waiting to rejoin their national teams as some traveled on Sunday, such as Uruguay’s Ronald Araujo, while others continue to recover from injuries.

Although the Catalan club have not yet officially announced the final dates, the plan is for the players to gradually return to the team based on the World Cup internationals, as their return will be according to the qualifying stages they have reached, so that each player gets a few weeks of adequate rest.

First meeting in mid-July

The first match of the team is planned to be held on July 12 or 13 in Barcelona, ​​where the players will undergo a routine medical examination before starting the actual preparation for the new season.

Indoor camping in England

In a remarkable move, Flick decided to scrap the traditional summer tours that Barcelona had carried out in previous seasons, as the German coach was not entirely happy with the plans and their impact on the squad’s preparation.

Instead, the players available to Flick will travel to England for a closed training camp at St George’s Park, England’s training ground, where they will stay between 1 and 10 days.

Full focus on physical fitness

No official friendlies will be played during this camp, reflecting Flick’s desire to focus entirely on physical and tactical preparation, away from the pressures of exhibition games and commercial commitments that usually accompany summer tours.

The move reflects the German coach’s philosophy of prioritizing the technical and physical aspects over the marketing aspects in an attempt to ensure an ideal start to the new season after a season full of challenges.