BARCELONA CONFIRMS PEDRI WILL MISS ONE MONTH WITH HAMSTRING TEAR
Barcelona secured a 4-2 win over Slavia Prague to climb to ninth, but coach Hansi Flick is sweating on Pedri’s hamstring injury.
Barcelona’s going to miss Pedri for about a month. He picked up a hamstring injury, and the club confirmed it on Thursday. He left the pitch in the second half during Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
After the match, he headed back to Barcelona for more tests. Turns out, he’s out until the end of February.
That’s a tough blow, especially now. Barça have seven games coming up, kicking off with two home matches—Real Oviedo in LaLiga this Sunday, then Copenhagen in the Champions League next Wednesday.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick didn’t hide his frustration after Pedri picked up a hamstring injury during Wednesday’s 4-2 Champions League win away at Slavia Prague. “It’s not good news,” he said.
Fermín López led the way with two goals, and Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski both scored as well on a night when the cold in Prague was tough to ignore. Still, the mood took a hit when Pedri had to come off early in the second half.
Pedri heads back to Barcelona for tests on Thursday to find out just how bad it is.
“I’m not sure exactly what’s wrong, but it’s the hamstring,” Flick told reporters after the match. “That’s football. These things happen sometimes. I don’t know how long he’ll be out, but it’s not good. We’ll know more tomorrow.”
Pedri’s had his fair share of injury troubles early in his career, but since Flick arrived in 2024, he’s mostly managed to stay healthy. Even so, he already missed five games earlier this season with a hamstring problem, plus another with a calf issue.
Barça played most of the second half without him but still came away with an important win, keeping their push for a top-eight finish in the Champions League league phase alive. That would send them straight into the round of 16.
Fermín, who bagged a hat trick against Olympiacos, grabbed two first-half goals after Vasil Kušej put the hosts ahead, bringing Fermín’s tally in the competition up to five.
“Fermín is fantastic,” Flick said. “It was important for him and for the club that he stayed last summer. He’s a Barcelona guy, and you can tell he loves the club. I really liked what I saw from him tonight.”
Lewandowski scored an own goal to tie it up before halftime, but Olmo, who came on for Pedri, put Barça back in front in the 63rd minute. Lewandowski then finished off a Marcus Rashford cross with twenty minutes to go, sealing the win for Barça.
With this result, Barça moves up to ninth and faces Copenhagen at home in their final league phase game next week. Another win probably pushes them into the top eight and avoids the knockout round that includes the teams from ninth to 24th.
“Copenhagen won’t be easy,” Flick said. “We don’t know if Ferran Torres will be back, Pedri’s now a doubt, and Frenkie de Jong is suspended. But Lamine Yamal returns, and we’ve got a great chance to make the top eight. We started this Champions League campaign badly, but with one game to go, we’re still in the fight.”
Yamal missed the Slavia match on Wednesday because he was suspended for yellow cards.
BARTOMEU UNCOVERS SECRET 2017 MBAPPé BID DURING REVEALING CADENA SER INTERVIEW
Josep Maria Bartomeu reveals Barcelona targeted Kylian Mbappé in 2017, but coaches preferred a move for Ousmane Dembélé instead
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.”
BARCELONA SECURE 14-POINT LEAD OVER MADRID; ESPANYOL RESULT NOW DETERMINES TITLE
Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres scored late to move Barcelona 14 points clear, leaving them one Madrid loss from the title.
Barcelona now sit 14 points ahead of Real Madrid, and if Madrid slips up against Espanyol on Sunday, the title’s theirs.
Lewandowski finally broke the deadlock after 81 minutes, nodding in a header, and Torres added another four minutes from the end. Osasuna didn't quit, though Raul Garcia pulled one back late, but Barcelona held on for all three points. They’re inching closer to a second league title in a row, the club’s 29th overall.
If Madrid beats Espanyol, Barcelona’s next chance to seal it comes in the Clásico on May 10 against their biggest rivals.
Flick’s trying to keep his team’s focus on the next match rather than the Clasico, but Barcelona played the first half like a squad with little to lose. Missing the injured Lamine Yamal, they lost a chunk of their energy on the attack. Sure, they dominated possession, but breaking down Osasuna for real chances? That was tough.
Roony Bardghji, filling in for Yamal on the right, managed a decent long shot, but Osasuna’s keeper, Sergio Herrera, had no trouble stopping it. Honestly, Osasuna nearly shocked everyone before halftime. Ante Budimir battled through two defenders and poked the ball off the post.
Barcelona picked up the pace after the break. Dani Olmo should’ve scored from close range, but he fluffed it. Flick then rolled the dice from the bench, bringing on three subs, including Marcus Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, to take over the right flank.
Rashford almost made an immediate impact, curling a shot just over and injecting some much-needed speed. He set up the opener too, swinging in a perfect cross for Lewandowski, who lost his marker and buried his header. Torres, another sub, finished with precision to double the lead.
Still, it wasn’t comfortable. Garcia scored for Osasuna in stoppage time, left wide open in the box, forcing Barcelona to sweat out the last minutes. The Catalans dug in, clearing everything in sight as Osasuna pressed, but finally, they held on for their tenth league win in a row. Now, all they can do is wait.
