Despite the heartbreaking news about Hansi Flick’s father just hours before El Clásico, Flick is still set to coach Barcelona on Sunday evening. Barcelona released a statement confirming the loss and sent their love to Flick, saying the whole club stands by him and his family right now.

Here’s what they said: “FC Barcelona and the entire blaugrana family wish to send all our love to Hansi Flick after the passing of his father. We share in your sorrow, and our thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.” Even with this heavy personal loss, Flick is going to be on the sidelines for the crucial match against Real Madrid. Both teams agreed to honour Flick’s father by wearing black armbands and holding a minute of silence before kickoff.

Real Madrid quickly responded with their own message of sympathy, calling Flick’s loss tragic and sending their condolences to him and his family. “Rest in peace,” their statement finished.

If Barcelona avoid defeat in this match, they’ll clinch the La Liga title with two games left; that’s back-to-back championships for Flick in just his first two seasons at the club.

Leading up to the game, Flick spoke about the positive vibe within the squad. He said, 'The atmosphere, the connection between the players, is something really special. We’ve got world-class talent, and you can see how close everyone is, especially the academy kids who’ve known each other forever.”

He went on: “Winning a second title with this young team would be unbelievable. The guys have done a fantastic job, and now we want to win the title for a second straight year, which isn’t common in Spain.”

Picking the starting eleven isn’t easy for Flick; almost everyone’s fit and playing at a high level. He summed it up simply: “We want to play our own game. We know what we have to do, and we want to prove it. We’re here because we played a fantastic season together as a team.”

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has just dropped a bit of a bombshell: right after Neymar left for PSG, Barcelona actually went after Kylian Mbappe. That chaotic summer in 2017, when Neymar's record-breaking move sent shockwaves through the club, left them scrambling for a new superstar.

Bartomeu admitted in an interview with SER that Neymar’s shock exit caught everyone off guard. “Neymar’s departure came as a shock to the club; we didn’t want him to leave,” he said. Suddenly, Barcelona was scouring the market for big names, and with Mbappe starring at Monaco, he became their top target.

But here’s the twist: even though the club reached out for both Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, the coaching staff made the final call. Bartomeu explained, “We made an offer for Mbappe and another for Dembele. The coaching staff preferred Dembele.” So, instead of pushing for Mbappe, Barcelona pressed ahead with Dembele, ultimately striking a deal with Borussia Dortmund worth €105 million plus add-ons.

Of course, there was the small matter of money, too. Bartomeu clarified that the price Monaco set for Mbappe was simply out of reach: €180 million, take it or leave it, and it was PSG who could step up. “It wasn’t an offer in the strict sense. They would say to you, "He's worth €180 million." If you want Mbappe, it’s €180 million, and Paris paid it.” Between the steep price and the coaching staff’s strong preference for Dembele, Barcelona backed off.

Bartomeu also opened up about how he handled transfers during his tenure. One thing stood out: after he pushed for the Luis Suarez signing from Liverpool despite all the controversy and got hammered with criticism, he decided to step back and trust the technical staff from then on. Suarez went on to win the Champions League and four La Liga titles with Barcelona, but that experience taught Bartomeu a lesson. “The only decision I made as president or as an administrator, and which I defended vigorously, was the signing of Suarez,” he said. “I was heavily criticised by all the media, so I learned the lesson that the president or administrators cannot interfere in sporting matters. We must trust the technical staff, the sporting directors, and the coaches; it is they who decide on signings.”