Barcelona will not bring back Thiago to coaching staff this season

When Hansi Flick arrived at Barcelona, one of the key concerns about his adaptation was the language. Despite reportedly having been learning Spanish since January, when he arrived in June, no press conference was given, and when a month later he did speak to the press, it was in English (as continues to be the case).

At the start of his tenure, he ended up calling recently retired ex-Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara in order to help him. While he was brought in for his knowledge of Flick’s methods and his familiarity with Barcelona, a key part of his job was translating for Flick and his German staff.

Heiko Westermann was also signed to the coaching staff on account of his ability with Spanish, but Thiago earned plenty of praise in the Catalan press, and indeed from some of the Barcelona squad. However the day before Barcelona’s first La Liga clash, they announced he would be leaving their staff – due to tax reasons, Thiago was required to continue living in the United Kingdom until the end of 2024.

With the end of the year, Thiago has returned to live in Barcelona with his family, and is currently studying for his coaching licence. The 33-year-old seems keen to get into coaching, and it was never certain that it would be with Barcelona, but it had been reported that he would return this season at least. However Catalunya Radio report that this will not be the case.

Thiago remains in regular contact with Flick, and with several members of the team. His character and knowledge are beyond doubt, but some sections of the Barcelona hierarchy have doubts over where he fits into the Barcelona staff now. Arnau Blanco was promoted from his La Masia coaching role, in part on account of his English skills, as a go-between for the German staff and players. He too has been praised for his work so far. While Thiago could return in the summer, Thiago will not be back this season.