Former Barcelona star: ‘Hansi Flick didn’t start an era at Barca. Xavi did’

Ex-Barcelona star Thierry Henry has revealed his take that Xavi Hernández is deserving of more credit for the club’s current success.

This, of course, comes fresh off another evening to remember for Barcelona on the continent.

The Blaugrana marked their return to action on Wednesday, locking horns with Red Star Belgrade in a Champions League clash.

Owing to another stellar attacking display, Barca ultimately emerged on the right side of a 5-2 result.

All told, this means that the Catalans have now emerged triumphant in all but two of their 16 outings across all competitions in 2024/25.

Looking a side completely reborn compared to last season, new boss Hansi Flick, in turn, has been widely credited with kickstarting a prosperous new era in Catalunya’s capital.

One inividual, though, of the opinion that the man to have come before Flick in the Camp Nou dugout deserves more recognition for as much, comes in the form of Thierry Henry.

Speaking as part of his punditry role for CBS Sports on Wednesday, one-time Blaugrana frontman Henry explained:

“I don’t think Hansi Flick started an era at Barça. It was Xavi who did it and Flick is continuing what Xavi did. Xavi made  Cubarsí debut, Lamine Yamal and was with many players who are there. Xavi left and Flick arrived.“

Henry continued:

“I think this team, right now, after two years playing together and a difficult last season that served to learn and gain character for young players and know how to act, this team has to be considered one of the favorites to win the Champions League. To do so sometimes you have to lose a semifinal or a quarterfinal to know how complicated it is but I think they are on the way to doing it.”

Conor Laird – GSFN

More European Football News