Those with shorter memories will remember Hansi Flick as the first Germany coach to be sacked in the role’s history.
Links, then, to Barcelona, one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs, may seem far-fetched to some.
Christian Falk, however, has exclusively informed CaughtOffside that the Blaugrana’s sporting director, Deco, has already contacted the 58-year-old on behalf of club president Joan Laporta.
The Spanish outfit wished to signal their interest in the former Bayern Munich boss’ services and inform him that he is one of several candidates on the shortlist to replace Xavi Hernandez.
Intriguingly, this comes at a time shortly after the coach’s vacation in Spain.
Flick has long been on Barca’s radar
It has to be emphasised that this isn’t some careless whim on the La Liga giants’ part.
Flick has already enjoyed a video call with Laporta back in 2021, with the latter keen to convince the former FC Koln star to take up the reins in Catalonia. The German turned down the opportunity, however, which paved the way for the return of prodigal son Xavi.
Records broken at Bayern
It shouldn’t be forgotten that the former midfielder currently holds the record for the highest win rate in Bayern coaching history at 81%, with a points-per-game total (2.45) that’s second only to Pep Guardiola (2.52).
Admittedly, that comes from a smaller pool of games managed for the Bavarians, though that only serves to highlight the amount of silverware taken in such a short stay at the Allianz Arena.
A sextuple was secured in the space of over eight months, with the incumbent Bundesliga champions lifting seven titles in total during Flick’s tenure.
That will be the coach Deco and Laporta hope to bring to Spotify Camp Nou for 2024/25, should he prove superior to all other candidates considered.