FC Barcelona closed their 2025 pre-season with a 'manita' against Como 1907 in the Joan Gamper Trophy (5-0). After the match, Hansi Flick assessed the performance of his players, after a very complex week due to the controversy over the medical discharge of Marc-André ter Stegen and the unexpected departure of Iñigo Martínez to Arab football.
Regarding the match, the Azulgrana coach acknowledged that, although there are still many things to improve in defense, offensively the team continues to do the job.
"The way we played and pressed was very good, but we have to improve in defense, press without the ball," he began by saying in his chat with 'TV3'. He also expressed his happiness for the squad available and the reinforcements signed this summer.
"We are very happy with the new players, they are on the right track, the team is growing," argued the coach. Barça closed the pre-season with a full of victories in four matches, adding 20 goals in favor and 4 against.
Flick: Does Barça need a new center-back after Iñigo's departure?
Regarding the signing of Iñigo Martínez by Al Nassr, Flick, while regretting the loss of the Basque player, sees the positive side of his departure. "Last season he was a very important part of our success, but his departure will be an opportunity for other players to grow," argued the Barça coach.
Iñigo was, together with Pau Cubarsí, a starter in defense throughout the 24/25 season. However, with his departure, the club frees up around 8.4 million euros in salary margin. In that sense, the German also 'got wet' about the possibility of going for another center-back in the final stretch of the summer market.
"I will talk to Deco when he is here and we will see, but for the moment, I don't think so," Hansi Flick pointed out. For the moment, Barça has Cubarsí and Ronald Araujo as starters, while Andreas Christensen and Eric García are the alternatives to the Catalan and the Uruguayan.
As an emergency option, the coaching staff can have Jules Koundé and Gerard Martín for the center of defense. This is the natural position of the Frenchman, while the '35' already had good minutes in that demarcation during the Asian tour.
In principle, Christensen seemed to be the discard for the club this summer, but finally it was Iñigo Martínez who ended up leaving. At the beginning of the year there was a lot of talk about the possibility of going for Jonathan Tah, an option discarded after the signing of the experienced German by Bayern Munich.
Is there controversy with Ter Stegen? Flick settles the rumors
On the other hand, Flick also spoke about the controversy linked to the future of Ter Stegen. Beyond recovering the captaincy of Barcelona, the '1' is not in the plans of the coaching staff for the 25/26 season. 'Matts' will be out, probably, for the entire first half of the season due to injury and, when he returns, he will not have a place in the squad.
Joan García will be the starter, while Wojciech Szczesny will be his substitute and Diego Kochen the third goalkeeper. Even so, the coach valued the resolution of the medical issue between Ter Stegen and the board, with which the 33-year-old player was able to make the traditional presentation speech of the squad in the Gamper.
"It is not easy to manage this situation because Marc has been an important part of the club for the last ten years. We had the opportunity to sign Joan (García) for the future and we had to take advantage of it." In turn, he added: "I think it was important to solve it before the Gamper. Having good communication and talking is very important," Flick pointed out.
As things stand, for now, there will be calm regarding the 'Ter Stegen case'. In the winter market, his future may again generate problems for the club, since the captain still has three more years of contract and, for now, refuses to negotiate with other teams.