Recent comments laid out by Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick left a long-time member of the club’s first-team ranks ‘hurt’ this week.
The player in question? Sergi Roberto.
For those who may have missed it, during his Barcelona presentation on Thursday, Hansi Flick was asked for the latest on the situation of midfielder Roberto in Catalunya’s capital.
The 32-year-old saw his Blaugrana contract expire last month, bringing to a close his career-long stint on the books at the Camp Nou.
Roberto has since maintained hope that he will ultimately be afforded a fresh extension by Deco and co, upon the Barca brass getting their financial situation back in order.
The response laid out by the aforementioned Flick to questions about his future on Thursday therefore left the versatile midfielder feeling ‘disheartened’.
That’s according to Diario AS, who reiterate that the German tactician’s message was as blunt as could be.
“He is not part of the squad,” Flick confirmed, failing to provide any further context.
Roberto, for his part, ‘was hurt by this statement’, viewing it as somewhat harsh in the face of his long-term commitment to the Blaugrana cause.
The Camp Nou hierarchy have since moved to smooth the situation over, adamant that their manager’s words can be attributed to ‘a language issue’ and the fact that ‘he did not want to prolong the debate’.
It now remains to be seen whether the damage done is long-term or not…
Conor Laird | GSFN
