Barcelona have announced the appointment of former Bayern Munich and Germany coach Hansi Flick as the manager of the Spanish club.

Barcelona announced Flick’s appointment in a statement on Wednesday.

His appointment followed the removal of former boss Xavi Hernandez, who left Barcelona after the club’s final game of the season against Sevilla on Sunday.

The Spanish giants noted: “FC Barcelona and Hansi Flick have reached an agreement for the German to become men’s first team football coach until 30 June 2026.

“The new coach has signed a contract at the club’s offices accompanied by FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta; first vice president responsible for the sporting area, Rafa Yuste and the Club’s sporting director, Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco.

“By bringing Hansi Flick as coach, FC Barcelona have chosen a man well known for his teams’ high pressing, intense and daring style of play which has brought him great success at club level and international level, winning pretty much all there is to win in the world of football.”

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Born in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1965, Flick started his coaching career in 1996 as player-coach at FC Victoria Bammental.

In 2000, Flick was appointed manager of fourth-division side 1899 Hoffenheim, with whom he gained promotion to the Regionalliga Sud, before departing in 2005.

Between 2006 and 2014, he was the assistant coach of Germany under manager Joachim Low as they won the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and subsequently served as sporting director of the German Football Association until 2017.

Having rejoined Bayern Munich as an assistant coach in 2019, Flick was made interim manager following the departure of Niko Kovac in November 2019.

He was later appointed permanently, and won the UEFA Champions League that season, completing the club’s second continental treble.

In 2021, 59-year-old Flick also led the side to a FIFA Club World Cup and another Bundesliga title. Alongside Pep Guardiola, he is one of only two managers to achieve a sextuple with their team.

Flick later replaced Low in charge of the Germany national team in 2021, leading the team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, before being dismissed in 2023 following a run of disappointing results.

The Star