Flick. I don’t want Lewandowski to go on… and his departure is good for Barcelona

“Barcelona” head coach Hansi Flick praised the career of Polish Robert Lewandowski After the announcement about leaving “Barça”.

“The conversation with Lewandowski went well. I won all my titles with him and it was a pleasure and an honor to work with him. He’s incredibly professional, he’s always been at the highest level and he’s taken good care of his body, and I’ll never forget that,” Flick said.

“Leiva is an example for young players. I think this decision is good for him and probably also for the club because we will restructure the team in this way. Yes, we spoke and he communicated the decision to everyone in the dressing room and we all know his quality as a player.”

Flick was asked: “You hoped Lewandowski would go on for another year.” He answered: “No, the decision has already been made.”

“Leiva will start tomorrow because he deserves it. I don’t know what will happen next season. We will study the transfer market, but a replacement has not yet been decided. We have plenty of time. It will not be easy to find a player of this level. I already said it. He is a great person and a great professional. We’ll miss him, but we’ll manage it.”

“If we win tomorrow, we will achieve something historic because no team has ever won all their home matches in La Liga. You always need goals and this is one of them. I know we are playing against a great and stable team in recent seasons and it won’t be an easy match, but we are in a good mood.”

“De Jong spoke to me and said he didn’t feel comfortable, so we decided he won’t play tomorrow. As for Marcus Rashford, it will have to wait. He might get a few minutes but he won’t feature for the most part and the line-up will be different to the one we played at Vitoria.

He added: “I don’t think tomorrow’s match will be a farewell for any other player. Everything is possible in football, but I don’t think so.”

When asked about the 20th anniversary of the Paris 2006 final, Flick said: “We have not yet reached our best levels in the Champions League. That’s all I can say. This is our goal that we want to achieve. It’s not easy, but it’s always possible.”

He continued. “I respect the players on my team and that’s what I expect from them and that we play as one team. We want to make everyone happy, and for me the best situation is for everyone to be honest and when something needs to be said, say it publicly.”

“I try to be honest with the players and my focus is always on the group. What’s good for the team is good for me, even if sometimes I have to take a step back. You have to be professional and Lewandowski is an example of this. “If you train at 60 or 70 percent, you won’t be at your best during the games.”