One of the most heartwarming moments during the celebrations came when senior midfielder Frenkie de Jong called young prospect Tommy Marques to click a picture together with the trophy. It was a nice touch from De Jong, given that the La Masia gem had gone on record a few months ago naming the Dutchman as one of his idols. Flick trusts the 'other Frenkie' Meanwhile, in the background, Pau Cubarsi, who was watching from close by, joked: "Two Frenkies, two Frenkies!"
As relayed by SPORT in a recent report, Rodriguez is determined to succeed at Barcelona at any cost and is pushing away any offer to leave the club to prove his worth to Hansi Flick. The youngster currently plays for Barça Atletic in the fourth division of Spanish football, and his quality has seen him attract interest and offers from several teams in higher divisions.
It is no secret that Hansi Flick is deeply involved in Barcelona's day-to-day affairs, even when it comes to monitoring the club's youth players. A shrewd operator, Flick often likes to monitor key matches for Barcelona's reserve team, as he considers La Masia to be a great source of talent for the first team. Flick's commitment to FC Barcelona's youth development knows no rest days either.
From the start of last season until December 2024, he played 1,727 minutes out of a possible 2,250, meaning he was involved in 76% of the minutes the team had played in the first half of the previous season. This season, Casado barely reaches 36.3%, having played only 768 minutes out of a total of 2,160. That 40% drop in involvement offers a clear snapshot of Casado's current situation. He knows that he is among Hansi Flick's last options.
After being branded as a flop for the longest time during his spell at Barcelona, Ferran Torres finally appears to have woken up. Under the leadership of Hansi Flick, the Spaniard has gone from being a backup striker at Barcelona to someone who is taking Robert Lewandowski head-on. Ferran's success has been backed up by data as well, as the forward has registered brilliant numbers in 2025, his first full year under Flick.
Jules Kounde has been making a habit of responding to speculation on social media and has offered a fresh update on Sunday night after going off injured against Villarreal.
There was one major absence in the training today, as Pedri did not take part once again, with Hansi Flick confirming that the midfielder would not be available for the game through discomfort. The discomfort appeared during the minutes he played in the Copa del Rey match against CD Guadalajara earlier this week.
In fact, according to a report from AS, the Barcelona manager had a very specific objective in mind when he made that call, one that went beyond the result of a Copa del Rey tie. The German coach wanted to place Ter Stegen firmly in the spotlight. After months of recovery from a lower back injury, Flick felt this was the right moment to publicly show that the goalkeeper was fully fit again.