{"id":77851,"date":"2026-08-30T12:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/77851\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T12:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:05:11","slug":"flick-talks-de-jong-rodri-lamine-raphinha-bisiwu-hamza-ahead-of-barcelona-vs-rayo-vallecano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/77851\/","title":{"rendered":"Flick talks De Jong, Rodri, Lamine, Raphinha, Bisiwu, Hamza ahead of Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano"},"content":{"rendered":"

FC Barcelona take on Rayo Vallecano on Monday night at the Spotify Camp Nou in the third matchday of the 2026\/27 La Liga season.<\/p>\n

Having made a fine start to the campaign with solid wins over Elche and Athletic Club, the reigning champions will be eager to extend their perfect record to three games and retain their hold at the top of the table.<\/p>\n

Bar\u00e7a\u2019s opponents on the night, Rayo Vallecano, are still looking for their first win of the season, after losing their opening game vs Sevilla, before playing out a 1-1 draw against Alaves last time out.<\/p>\n

Ahead of Monday night\u2019s clash against Rayo, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick addressed the media in his pre-match press conference, discussing various issues, including the club\u2019s transfer plans for the final days of the summer window.<\/p>\n

Happy with the squad<\/p>\n

Kicking things off, the German tactician made it clear that he was very happy with the squad at his disposal and praised the work done by sporting director Deco.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m happy and we\u2019re not under any pressure. Deco has done a fantastic job. For me, that\u2019s fine. As a coach, the most important thing is to work with what we have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On whether the squad was capable of winning all major trophies, Flick added: \u201cA lot can happen in a season. Everyone is hungry, and now we have to play as a team. We need to have team spirit, and that\u2019s how things can happen. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere we have here is incredible, and we have to keep it up, even though we have great players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HansiNot closing the door on a new centre-back signing. (Photo by Alex Livesey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

With Alvaro Cortes on his way out, the Barcelona manager was asked if they planned on signing a new centre-back, to which his reply was non-committal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always look at what\u2019s possible, and we\u2019ll see until the last day of the transfer window,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for Alvaro Cortes, he\u2019s taken a step forward, but it\u2019s good for him to play at the highest level at his age, perhaps in Belgium, because that way he can improve. <\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying another year with the reserve team isn\u2019t an option for him, and the best thing for him is to go to another club.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his thoughts about the transfer window being open three weeks into the new season, Flick simply said: \u201cI can\u2019t change it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the new signings<\/p>\n

The manager then gave an update on Barcelona\u2019s marquee summer signing Rodri and whether he could be in the starting XI against Rayo Vallecano.<\/p>\n

\u201cRodri has had some issues these past few days, but he\u2019s improved and could start, but we\u2019ll decide tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Regarding the club\u2019s latest signing, Dominik Livakovic, Flick noted: \u201cWe\u2019re happy with Tek [Szczesny]. I\u2019m very pleased to have an experienced goalkeeper. His signing is with the future in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The German tactician also highlighted the talent of another new signing, Jesse Bisiwu, saying: \u201cHe\u2019s training with us and will play with Bar\u00e7a Atletic. He has a lot of potential but it\u2019s not easy, he\u2019ll continue to improve in training.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the rest of the team<\/p>\n

Flick also discussed the situation of key midfielder Frenkie de Jong and the possibility of him undergoing surgery, considering he is currently on conservative treatment for his knee injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that he takes it one day at a time. We have a long season with many matches. He\u2019s a fantastic player and I\u2019m thrilled to have him on the team,\u201d Flick stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to manage everyone\u2019s playing time after a World Cup. We have to control the minutes. Everyone will want to play, but the team comes first, not me or the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding his decision to utilise Raphinha as a No. 9 this season<\/a>, Flick explained: \u201cAs a \u20189\u2019, he always initiates the pressure and that\u2019s very good. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s our leader and when he starts the intensity with his dynamism he\u2019s fantastic, also because of his ability to score. There are other players to play there at other times in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RaphinhaFlick happy with Raphinha\u2019s performances as a No. 9. (Photo by Alex Caparros\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The manager also touched upon Lamine Yamal\u2019s quiet start to the season and the fact that the youngster has appeared somewhat frustrated, saying: <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good when a player smiles, but it doesn\u2019t always have to be that way. Lamine played in the World Cup and has returned after three weeks of vacation. The match against Elche wasn\u2019t his best, but he worked hard for the team, and I was very happy. <\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst Athletic, he played 90 minutes, and it was great to see him back at his top level. He\u2019s been excellent in training. We have to support him, and that\u2019s what we want to see from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the plans he has for youngster Brian Farinas, the manager remarked: \u201cAs for Brian, he surprised me in pre-season. He\u2019s a great talent, very committed, and can play in several positions. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to see how much he\u2019s improved. It\u2019s not easy for him because there are fantastic players in his position, but he deserves to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touching upon the situation of Hamza Abdelkarim, who was Barcelona\u2019s top scorer in pre-season, but has yet to make his La Liga debut, Flick said: <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not always easy to give opportunities to deserving players like him. He had a great preseason and he\u2019s improving every day in training. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe scores goals, has a good attitude and a good mentality. He deserves to play and we want to give him opportunities to show his quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Barcelona manager also gave his two cents about the Ballon d\u2019Or, saying: \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to run campaigns. Of course, there are very good players on my team. I\u2019m not a fan of these awards. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the team is successful, the chances of winning these awards are higher. There are many good players in Spain, but it\u2019s not easy to choose one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Mundo Deportivo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FC Barcelona take on Rayo Vallecano on Monday night at the Spotify Camp Nou in the third matchday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,930,875],"class_list":["post-77851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-hansi-flick","tag-rayo-vallecano"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}