Hansi Flick’s strategy to improve his Barcelona side for 2026/27 season – report
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Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have been peerless domestically in the last couple of seasons, winning everything possible except the Copa del Rey in the 2025/26 season.
The German manager has come in and immediately made Barça the strongest team in Spain, and the two league titles are a testament to that.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNow, as he looks to take the project to the next stage of its evolution, Flick is said to be shaping his summer plans around one clear idea: this team must press harder, run more and compete with greater aggression against Europe’s elite.
According to SPORT,, Flick and his coaching staff believe Barça already have enough football quality to dominate in Spain.
Flick has a vision. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
The concern is different. To compete properly in the Champions League, they feel the squad needs more physical power, more depth and a higher level of intensity without the ball.
That is a very important distinction. Barcelona do not need to abandon their identity. They do not need to become a reactive team or stop valuing possession.
AdvertisementAdvertisementTechnically, there have been no question marks about this Barça team. Flick wants them to take that one step forward to match the best teams in Europe physically as well.
Gordon fits the new direction
This helps explain the signing of Anthony Gordon. The English winger is not only a player for one-on-one situations or attacking depth.
He brings energy, pressing and direct running, which are exactly the qualities Flick wants to add to the wide areas. Off the ball, he is one of the best attackers in Europe.
In Europe, that matters. Barça have often had enough talent to control long stretches of matches, but the difference at the highest level is usually decided in a matter of seconds.
AdvertisementAdvertisementJulian Alvarez being a priority also fits that same logic. He is not just a centre-forward because of his goals.
A priority target. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)
He presses, harasses defenders, attacks space and gives the team a first defensive line with real bite.
For Flick, the forward line cannot be passive. If the first press is weak, the midfield gets stretched, the defence has to defend bigger spaces, and the whole structure starts to suffer.
Barça need beauty with bite
This is the balance Barcelona must find. The club’s DNA is still about the ball, positional play and technical superiority.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, modern football is moving on. Flick seems to understand that Barça’s next step is not more talent for the sake of talent.
A Barça team that plays well but also presses like it is angry can become very difficult to face. The best versions of this club have never been soft.
Gordon is one piece, Alvarez could be another, and every signing should be a stylistic fit who can contribute to the system without a drop-off.
Flick does not want a team that only dominates with the ball. He wants a team that will never stop pressing. It remains to be seen whether the Barcelona team live up to these expectations next season.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
