How Barcelona players’ discomfort prompted Flick to make key locker room change – report

Since Hansi Flick arrived at FC Barcelona, one of his main objectives has been to instil discipline in the locker room – especially in terms of players’ punctuality.

As was seen on several occasions last season, any player late to training or activating sessions on matchdays was punished by being dropped from the starting lineups.

For example, Jules Kounde experienced it on multiple occasions, and Inaki Pena lost his place in the team at the Spanish Super Cup. This term, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford were on the receiving end of the same punishment.

Change in policy

However, according to RAC1, there has been a notable change in how lateness is punished inside the dressing room.

For Flick, matchday is sacred. There are several scheduled moments – activation sessions, tactical talks – and arriving even a few seconds late is seen as a lack of respect toward teammates.

And, until October 2025, lateness was punished on the pitch. The consequence was simple: if you were late, you did not start.

But, as per the report, players began to feel uncomfortable with this form of punishment from the manager. When a regular starter suddenly appeared on the bench, the reason quickly became public.

Flick used to punish players for being late by dropping them from the lineup. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

It drew attention and created tension, especially when players felt performance should be the deciding factor, not punctuality alone. The punishment, in their view, was too severe.

Now, late arrivals are punished with financial fines, as was revealed by Pedri and Ferran Torres during an interview earlier this week – with penalties rising as high as €40,000.

Internal discussions played a part

In October, rumours circulated that Lamine Yamal had started against PSG despite arriving late, and that Barcelona sporting director Deco had intervened to soften Flick’s stance. The coach dismissed the story as “bullshit.”

Still, conversations continued behind the scenes. Team captains spoke with Flick and Deco, suggesting it might be time to adjust the approach.

And the director proposed reconsidering the system. Flick, known for being demanding but also open to dialogue, listened. The conclusion was clear: keep the discipline, change the method.

As such, from around October, sporting punishments for lateness have been replaced with financial penalties. The message remains firm – punctuality is non-negotiable. But the consequence now hits the players’ wallets instead of the starting lineup.