Barcelona has officially appointed Hansi Flick as their new head coach.
The German succeeds Xavi after the club decided to part way with the former captain at the end of the season.
Flick, who led German giants Bayern Munich to a historic sextuple in 2020, became the first coach ever to be sacked by the German national team in September 2023 after a string of bad results.
The 59-year-old occasionally watched Barcelona matches this season from the presidential box and was linked with the job after Xavi said in January he would depart at the end of the campaign.
Barcelona and Xavi decided jointly he would stay for next season after all in April but then Laporta changed his mind and sacked the former midfield great last week.
“It won’t be easy at all — they will suffer and they will need patience because it’s a really difficult job,” Xavi warned his successor last week after winning his final match in charge against Sevilla in La Liga.
“The only thing that can save them is winning, whether they have been part of the club or not.”
Barcelona finished second in La Liga this season and were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Paris Saint-Germain.
