Real Madrid star enamoured with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick

If there is one criticism of Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid this season, it starts with their two Clasico defeats to Barcelona. The Italian coach has opened up a seven-point gap over their fierce rivals in La Liga, but their two defeats, 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu and 5-2 in Saudi Arabia, have left a stinging would in the Spanish capital.

Despite the gap in the table between the two, Ancelotti has come in for far more criticism than his counterpart Hansi Flick. There is no doubt that Real Madrid’s struggles against La Liga and the Champions League have become a point of debate though, and Ancelotti will be desperate to avoid a negative result against Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby next month.

Como were very close to reaching an agreement to sign Eric García earlier this week, but he’s now decided to stay at Barcelona. His current position is to continue at the club after a new talk with Hansi Flick. @FabrizioRomano

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 23, 2025

The fact Barcelona managed to exploit Real Madrid’s weaknesses twice in showpiece events has brought plenty of blowback, and according to Catalunya Radio, left Jude Bellingham impressed. They claim that Bellingham is ‘enamoured’ with Flick’s style of play, Barcelona’s approach to games, and more than anything, the fact that their players seem to know what to do and where to be in every instance. This was something he spoke about with his inner circle after the latest Clasico defeat.

This will no doubt be read as an implicit criticism of Ancelotti and his approach, where the Italian tends to be less wedded to a specific system, and gives autonomy to the players in many areas. Given he made the comments in private, as per the report, that is still an assumption rather than a reality.

In the past Bellingham has spoken positively of Ancelotti’s trust in his stars to be able to work things out for themselves positionally, giving them roles rather than set spaces to occupy. Certainly it is a strategy that has worked wonders with Bellingham, unlocking his goalscoring potential last season, and more recently again this campaign.