Barcelona president highlights Hansi Flick’s positive impact – ‘Enthusiasm has returned’ | OneFootball

Barcelona president Joan Laporta hosted the club’s Christmas dinner on Thursday night, an event that saw over 500 employees in attendance.

Among them were the entire first-team squad and members of the women’s football team, all gathered to celebrate the festive season.

During the event, Laporta took this opportunity to raise a toast to the club’s future successes as they looked ahead to 2025, inviting the coaches and captains of both the men’s and women’s teams to join him on stage for the toast.

Appreciation for Flick

The evening saw Laporta surrounded by key figures, including sporting director Deco, first-team manager Hansi Flick, and captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Flick, who is still relatively new to the club, took centre stage alongside Laporta and was a key figure of the night’s celebrations.

Joan Laporta praised Hansi Flick. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Laporta took a moment during his speech to highlight Flick’s positive impact, expressing that under his leadership, enthusiasm had returned to the club.

“With Flick, the enthusiasm has returned to Barcelona; we feel capable of competing for everything again,” said the president (quoted by AS).

A jibe at Xavi?

Laporta’s remarks included a direct mention of how the atmosphere had shifted with Flick at the helm, and some attendees couldn’t help but feel that there was an underlying message about the previous coach, Xavi.

It seemed that Laporta’s words were not only meant to praise Flick but also to imply that the energy around the team had faltered under Xavi’s management.

Meanwhile, in addition to the first-team stars, one of the most talked-about attendees was Lamine Yamal, the young sensation who continues to make waves in football.

Despite suffering from a right ankle injury, Yamal made sure to attend the dinner. Though his mobility was somewhat limited, the talented forward remained in high spirits and was eager to reassure those around him that he would be back on the pitch soon.