How Hansi Flick convinced Barcelona midfield starlet to stay amid January transfer links

Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Mallorca will be remembered for many reasons, but none more uplifting than Marc Bernal’s first senior goal for the club. The 17-year-old La Masia graduate, only recently back from the anterior-cruciate-ligament rupture that cut short last season, announced his return in style, latching onto a threaded pass, outpacing two defenders and finishing with a composed cut-back that sealed the win.

Yet the strike carried deeper significance. Weeks earlier Bernal’s long-term future had been clouded by speculation linking him with a January exit in search of regular minutes, with Girona among the clubs reportedly monitoring his situation. According to MARCA, the whispers reached such a volume that Hansi Flick summoned the teenager to his office for a candid conversation.

“I have seen what is coming out in the press,” the German coach told Bernal, dismissing the exit talk outright. Flick then laid out a concise roadmap: patience, persistence and trust in the club’s planned pathway. “Calm down, stay, keep working and everything will come little by little,” he assured the midfielder.

The discussion proved decisive. Bernal immediately shelved any thought of leaving, refocused on training and has since seen his pitch time rise steadily. Saturday’s goal, he admitted in post-match flash interviews, felt like the first tangible reward for heeding his manager’s advice.

With Flick’s faith now publicly vindicated, Barcelona hope the goal marks not an isolated flash but the beginning of a career-long partnership between coach and prodigy.