Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has confirmed the return of Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde from injury, following over a month out of action. However the loss of Raphinha, against what Flick described as ‘one of the best teams in Europe’, has somewhat soured the return from the international break for the Catalan side.
Kounde and Balde are set to be joined by Eric Garcia, who has also missed games through injury recently. It provides Flick with far more options in defence, but Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong is yet to return to training with his teammates.
“The good news is that we have Kounde, Balde, and Eric back. With Frenkie, he’ll be able to start training with the group next week. But one step at a time. We must wait.”
Barcelona’s record is significantly worse without Raphinha in the side this season, and he has been in and out of the team all season with several injuries. He is set to return to Barcelona on Sunday, after being given time off in Brazil before starting his recovery.
“There are no guilty parties. It’s an injury, and that’s part of football; we have to accept it. It hasn’t come at the best time, which saddens us, and now we’ll have to see how we manage it, we have a lot of players.”
“These things happen. He went to Brazil. Normally we want players here [when they are injured]. We were talking on FaceTime and he was very down, and to help him relax and clear his head, we decided together with Deco he could spend a few days relaxing in Brazil with his family. Sometimes you have to make different decisions.”
Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford is the favourite to replace Raphinha on the left side of attack. Flick surprised by mentioning Gavi as an option though – he managed eight minutes of action before the international break.
“I’m happy with Marcus; he’s performing well. He’s had some physical problems in recent weeks, but now’s an opportunity for him. We also have other options like Fermin or Gavi, who’s at a very high level. I’m happy he has recovered that level in training. We’ll see what we decide, because we have several choices.”
🚨 FC Barcelona have offered Andreas Christensen a renewal on significantly reduced terms, cutting his current salary nearly in half. While the club value his attitude, they are aware the Dane may choose to leave for a better contract elsewhere as a free agent. [@scapde_45] 🇩🇰
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 3, 2026
Flick has been highly complementary of Diego Simeone’s side in their three previous meetings this season, which have resulted in two wins and a defeat for Barcelona, but crucially, progress to the Copa del Rey final for Atletico.
“Yes, it’s a match against one of the best teams in the league and in Europe. Therefore, they have a lot of quality and any player can decide the game. It’s very important not to make as many mistakes as in the last match there. I liked today’s training session and there are two very important months ahead.”
Flick on Griezmann: "He's a fantastic player, the way he plays football, it's so light. It's almost like he's dancing."
— Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) April 3, 2026
“Griezmann is a fantastic player, the way he plays football, it’s so light. It’s almost like he’s dancing.”
One of the talking points from their defeat at the Metropolitano was the playing surface, with multiple Barcelona players losing their footing in the first leg of their Copa del Rey meeting.
“We’ve talked about it. I’ve told the players that we need to look into this and they might have to change their studs. They need to prepare and adapt, it’s their responsibility.”
Barcelona sit atop La Liga with a four-point advantage, but Real Madrid can cut the gap to a point before the game at the Metropolitano. With a tricky run ahead, and Raphinha out of action, the run-in is littered with obstacles for the Catalan giants.
