How Lamine Yamal and PSG helped Hansi Flick change his rules at Barcelona

Barcelona’s dressing-room culture has shifted under Hansi Flick, and the catalyst appears to have been a combination of teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal, a Champions League night against Paris Saint-Germain, and a squad that felt increasingly singled out.

Earlier this season Flick enforced a hard-line policy: arrive late to a team meeting and you start the next match on the bench. The sanction was applied without exception, yet the ensuing headlines—often leaked within hours—left players feeling exposed. According to RAC1, the tipping point came when reports claimed Flick wanted to drop Yamal for tardiness ahead of the European tie with PSG, only for sporting director Deco to overrule him. The coach publicly dismissed the story as “bulls***,” but the episode resonated inside the dressing room.

Pedri and Ferran Torres revealed this week that Flick has now swapped the bench for the bank: late arrivals will be fined rather than frozen out. Senior players, including the club captains, approached both Flick and Deco in October to argue that public demotions were creating “a bit of discomfort” and painting individuals as scapegoats. After internal talks, the German relented; the new financial penalty was introduced immediately and remains in force.

While punctuality is still non-negotiable, the punishment is no longer paraded in front of the media, a compromise designed to preserve squad harmony without compromising standards. The revised rule, quietly implemented back in October, marks a notable evolution in Flick’s man-management approach at the Ciutat Esportiva.