Ralf Rangnick reveals that he negotiated with FC Barcelona in 2021 and recommended Hansi Flick to the Catalans.
Under Hansi Flick, FC Barcelona completely returned to the road to success after some dreary years. With inspiring football, Barca secured all three national titles in Spain.
The Catalans’ rather surprising choice to rely on Flick last summer paid off completely. Why Barca decided on the coach, who had previously ended up on the sidelines with the German national team, seemed open for a long time.
Hansi Flick won three titles with FC Barcelona
But now Ralf Rangnick revealed in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Sport that he may have played at least a small role because President Laporta may have remembered a conversation between the two from 2021.
“Of course, I also mentioned the name of Hansi Flick and maybe one or two other coaches. Maybe I also mentioned Klopp. Laporta must have remembered my remark about Flick,” said Rangnick at Sport.
Rangnick negotiated with Barca himself
But how did the meeting between Rangnick and Laporta even come about? The two had spoken at the beginning of 2021 about a possible role for Rangnick as sporting director at Barca.
“I got a call from Rafael Yuste (Vice President, editor’s note). I didn’t know him. He introduced himself and asked me if we could meet in Barcelona because they were looking for a sporting director. I flew to Barcelona, met with Rafael and the then presidential candidate Laporta, and we spoke for two days,” recalls Rangnick.
In the conversation, the three discussed concrete opportunities and changes at Barca. He had come into focus because he had built projects in Hoffenheim, Leipzig and Salzburg and Barca also needed a rebuild.
Rangnick suggested this type of coach to Laporta
During the talks, Laporta then also asked him what type of coach Barca could use for the upheaval. Rangnick’s answer: “And I said, well, we need modern coaches who like to work with young players, who can develop them, who can deal with them with good leadership skills, who also take care of them, who trust them and believe in them.”
“If you play almost exclusively with young players, as Barcelona does, you have to trust them, I told Laporta. You have to let them run and play like little young wolves. If you only tell them, don’t do that and don’t take too many risks, it won’t work,” said Rangnick.
He then brought Flick into the conversation as a suitable example of this coach description. A few years later, Barca actually brought the German in.
And Flick brought all the qualities to Catalonia that Rangnick had recommended. Flick constantly relied on the great Barca talents and they repaid his great trust.