Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has admitted that he was surprised by the revelations that came out of the Real Madrid dressing room this week, following news of several altercations. The main event that has dominated headlines in Spain is fight between Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, which ended in a head injury for the Uruguayan.
It was also one of the main topics that Flick was asked about during his press conference before El Clasico, with the two sides meeting on Sunday night.
“These things can happen. It happens around the world. It’s not only Real Madrid. Was I surprised? Maybe a little bit. I was a little bit surprised, but these things happen all over the world, not just at Real Madrid. But I don’t want to talk about it, it’s not my team, it’s not my club.”
Before the news of the altercations, there was plenty of criticism directed at Kylian Mbappe, with some even suggesting that Real Madrid play better without him. Flick was not entertaining that idea.
“Come on. Mbappe is one of the best players in the world. He has great quality; for me, in front of goal, for me he’s one of the best.”
🚨 Hansi Flick: "For me, what we have to do is play as always. We've had a great season as a team. I know the intensity is high, everyone wants to see the match… But in the end, it depends on us. I want to see my team play well and not think about other things." 🎙️
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 9, 2026
“I don’t know how to answer this question. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry,” Flick responded when asked about the spirit of Juanito, something often invoked by Real Madrid often to conjure up a comeback.
One of Flick’s quotes from earlier in the season was that ‘ego kills the team’, when trying to encourage his side into their defensive work. That quote was thrown back at him, and he was asked if he felt Real Madrid had suffered from the same thing.
“I don’t want to talk about Real Madrid because it’s not my team. But it’s true, the important thing is to work as a team, that we always think with the ‘we’, not about the me. Not about the ego, but always for the team. Everything that’s going on, has to be positive for the team, and in my view, it’s positive for the team..”
“I think the most important thing in this is that we’re all going the same way. We’re talking on the same wavelength. These things can happen, it could happen, I will not say it’s normal, but these things could happen. It’s better to communicate. This is the number one. And this is normally how me manage it here. When something happens like this, I will think about that.”
Barcelona host Real Madrid on Sunday night at 21:00 CEST, knowing anything but a loss will secure their second straight La Liga title under Hansi Flick. They go in as heavy favourites following the strife at the Bernabeu.
