Hansi Flick losing faith in Barcelona figure

Originally posted on Football Espana | By Ruairidh Barlow | Last updated Nov 27, 2025 10:01 AM ET

Barcelona have struggled for a consistent line-up this season, having suffered from a number of injury issues. That was the case in the first half of last year, and has led to more opportunities for the likes of Marcus Rashford, Fermin Lopez and Eric Garcia. Just as noticeably, it has not led to opportunities for others.

The middle of the pitch was one of Barcelona’s strengths last season, but this season Gavi, Marc Bernal, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez all spending time on the sidelines. Lopez is the latest to go down with injury, while it is hoped that Pedri is on the verge of his return.

Flick losing faith in Marc Casado

Despite those injury issues, Marc Casado remains on the outside looking in. The 22-year-old was expected to come into the starting line-up after Pedri’s injury, but Dani Olmo replaced the Canary Islander against Celta Vigo before the international break, and Eric Garcia has been employed against Athletic Club and Chelsea.

Even if Casado did miss a week of training through a muscle issue during that break, it has raised eyebrows. Diario AS say that Flick appears to have lost confidence in Casado, despite advocating for Casado to stay at the club in the summer , amid talk of a €30m move to West Ham United.

Pedri is training with the rest of the team. The expectation is that he will receive the medical green light, and be able to get some minutes on Saturday against Alavés. @FCBRAC1

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 27, 2025

Numbers illustrate Casado change

This season Casado has featured for just 592 minutes, starting only seven of Barcelona’s 18 games. Last season that figure was at 1,305 minutes last season, more than double. In the last five Barcelona matches, Casado has not been on the pitch, and in two of his starts against Real Oviedo and Levante he was substituted at half-time.

The contrast to this time last year could not be any more stark, when Casado not only started in games against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but featured in the highlight reels for two excellent assists. Even allowing for the improved fitness of de Jong, his lack of minutes has been a surprise, but it is true that in his early showings, Casado struggled to impose himself during games, as illustrated by Flick’s decision to change him early.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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