Hansi Flick has revealed why he has stopped benching players for being late at Barcelona and is issuing fines instead.
Pedri and Ferran Torres let slip that Flick had softened his stance in an interview on Spanish television this week, with it being claimed players must pay around €40,000 if they are 10 minutes late.
Flick was asked about the situation at his pre-match press conference and revealed the reason for the change.
“Before, it was stressful because I’d look at the clock when there were 60
seconds left and think, ‘Let’s see when they’ll arrive’,” he said.
“It’s something I don’t like because it’s also pressure for me, so I decided to talk to the captains and leave the decision up to them. Since then, no one has been late, so I guess we made the right decision.”
Flick was then asked if he was getting a little bit softer towards his players, as he celebrated his 61st birthday this week, and saw the funny side, joking “It has nothing to do with that!”
