Thiago Alcantara Will Return To Barcelona As Flick Staff

Thiago Alcantara is planned to return to Barcelona as Hansi Flick's staff (Instagram/@thiago6).

JAKARTA - Barcelona hopes to reach an agreement for Thiago Alcantara's return as part of coach Hansi Flick's staff in the coming weeks.

Thiago, who graduated from the club's academy, helped Flick adapt to life at Barcelona as part of the German manager's team when he first took over last summer.

However, the former Spain National Team player left the role after more than a month due to bureaucratic issues forcing him to return to Liverpool, where he settled after ending his playing career at the English club.

Since returning to Barcelona, he has been waiting for an offer to rejoin Flick's staff, but the Catalan club's Financial Fair Play issue has postponed his permanent appointment.

ESPN said Barcelona is currently working on a series of deals that will give them the salary space needed to bring back Thiago.

Apart from that, Thiago played under Flick's direction at Bayern Munich and was an important figure when the Bundesliga club won trebles in 2020.

The 34-year-old will now continue his relationship as one of Flick's assistants, focusing specifically on helping young players who have just joined forces to adapt to the coach's demands.

After studying at La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy, Thiago made 101 appearances for the first team before joining Bayern Munich in 2013.

He left Bayern for Liverpool in 2020, but injury disrupted his career at Anfield. After making 98 appearances for the Premier League team, he announced early retirement from football in 2024.