By Sean Walsh
The entourage of Hansi Flick have refuted claims he recently met with Barcelona over succeeding head coach Xavi.
Barca are on the hunt for a new manager with current boss Xavi stepping aside at the end of the 2023/24 season.
One name that has been linked with the job has been Flick, who is out of work after being fired as manager of the Germany national team last year. He previously enjoyed a successful two-season stint in charge of Bayern Munich, notably winning the 2019/20 Champions League having eliminated Barcelona 8-2 in their one-legged quarter-final.
Foot Mercato reported last week that Flick and his agent, Pini Zahavi, had met with Barcelona club president Joan Laporta over the possibility of replacing Xavi.
The significance in Foot Mercato's reporting is that though they did not mention Zahavi directly by name, he is indeed Flick's agent and shares a strong relationship with Laporta. He is often credited as a driving force behind Barcelona's ability to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern in 2022.
However, Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo claim they have been contacted by Flick's camp to 'flatly deny' that such a meeting took place.
Mundo Deportivo add that Flick does remain an option for Barcelona as part of their so-called 'German route', with Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel also on their radar. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, Brighton & Hove Albion's Roberto De Zerbi and PSG's Luis Enrique - who already managed Barca between 2014 and 2017 - are too under consideration.
During a recent interview, Barcelona sporting director Deco insisted there is a lack of high-quality managers available right now, but the club are working to secure a worthy successor to Xavi.
"There are not many top-level coaches out there. Most are under contract, there are not many people available," Deco admitted. "Barca has a style that everyone knows. But there is no robot portrait of the ideal coach. Nationality does not count, What counts is the quality, the ambition."
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Barcelona managerial target 'denies talks' over replacing Xavi.
