Pedri reveals the difference in the punishments given by Hansi Flick and Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona | OneFootball

Since arriving as the head coach at FC Barcelona, Hansi Flick has been able to get the team accustomed to his ways of playing and training in a very short time. Some reports from the club have indicated how he has been able to do so, with his professionalism and strict discipline playing a key role in this.

But Flick is not the only coach who puts a lot of emphasis on strict discipline. His predecessor, Xavi Hernandez, also reportedly placed a lot of emphasis on this aspect. However, different coaches have different methods to ensure the compliance of their players to their preferred practices.

This was clear from the anecdotes shared by one of Barcelona’s midfielders, Pedri, in a recent informal interview. As MARCA has reported, the Canary Islander shared one of his experiences of how he missed a training session after the team had returned from an away trip at 4:00 am, and the recovery session was scheduled for 12:00 pm:

“I don’t know why my phone didn’t ring; I had dozens of missed calls. I got dressed in 30 seconds, arrived, and they were waiting for me to do the recovery. I came in as red as a tomato.”

The midfielder went on to explain how the fines for being late work for footballers: “If it’s a match day, it’s always much higher. If you’re focused in a hotel and arrive late to a meeting, it’s a lot.”

Pedri revealed that Flick has not adopted fines as a way of penalizing players for being late, but he simply does not play the players who arrive late: “If you’re late, you simply don’t play.”

Jules Koundé has already faced this punishment after arriving late for Hansi Flick’s team talk, which led to him starting the game on the bench. In contrast, Xavi had a system of fines for such incidents at Barcelona, and Pedri explained how it worked:

“There are coaches who fine you by the minute—for example, five minutes is 5,000 euros. But with Xavi, it was 5,000 euros if you’re late, and the next time it doubles. It keeps doubling, so if you’re late four or five times, you’re screwed.”

The midfielder went on to reveal that these fines went to donations or were used for collective team meals. These comments provide an interesting insight into the life of a professional footballer, even more so for Barcelona fans as Pedri described how two last coaches tried to ensure the team took their club commitments seriously.