- Sam Millne
Former Liverpool player Thiago Alcantara is to take up a coaching role at Barcelona, with manager Hansi Flick reportedly ‘highly valuing’ his contribution last summer.
Following his retirement from playing, Thiago spent the summer of 2024 coaching at Barcelona, contributing to the Catalan club’s pre-season before they went on to win the league.
He is now set to return there in a permanent position, Cadena SER‘s Adria Albets first reporting the news then Fabrizio Romano adding that he could be in place “from next week if all goes to plan.”
Albets explained that the appointment comes after Flick ‘highly valued his contribution during the 2024 pre-season’.
It is a move that has been on the cards for a while, with Thiago out of a job and returning to Merseyside after his summer at Barcelona.
Speaking to All Red Video last September, the Spaniard said: “Well, at the end I had the chance to get into football again, helping the coaching staff of Barcelona.
“I decided for the practical part, not for the theory, just because of the experience I had doing all these years in football and the kind of role I had in the team.
“I just want to pass it through to other players. I love to help new players as well, young players to develop under the coach. It was pretty good spirits.”
Thiago was a product of Barca’s famous La Masia academy, joining the club from Flamengo at 14 years old.
As an incredibly talented technician in midfield, Thiago made his Barcelona B debut aged 17, before playing his first game for the senior side less than a year later under Pep Guardiola.
He would go on to play 100 matches for Barcelona, but his career would arguably peak at Bayern Munich, where he was instrumental in seven Bundesliga successes and four German Cup wins, as well as playing a pivotal part in their 2020 Champions League triumph.
After seven years in Germany, again working with coach Guardiola, Liverpool pulled off a coup in signing Thiago for £20 million in 2020.
As we all know, injuries blighted his time at Anfield, but when the No. 6 did step onto the pitch, he was a genuine joy to watch.
With beauty matched by bite, his grace on the ball wasn’t just aesthetically pleasing; he was also penetrative and a major driving force behind Liverpool pushing for a quadruple in 2022.
His incredible awareness and footballing intelligence should stand him in good stead for being able to analyse the game, and learning from the likes of Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp can’t have done his coaching education any harm!
- Barcelona, Former Players, Thiago
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