Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is ready for the Jose Mourinho test - "He's a coach like any other" | Barca Universal

Barcelona finished the 2025/26 season as La Liga champions for the second consecutive year under Hansi Flick, also adding the Spanish Super Cup. Real Madrid ended the campaign without any major trophy for a second straight season, increasing expectations of another managerial change at the Santiago Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho is widely expected to take over, but presidential elections and issues around his release clause at Benfica have delayed the process. After Barcelona’s 3-1 defeat to Valencia on the final matchday, Flick stated he is prepared to face Mourinho and will treat him like any other coach. Mourinho’s history at Camp Nou and a possible return to the Bernabeu would renew a major rivalry against a Barcelona side building a new era.

"Barcelona wrapped up the 2025/26 season as La Liga champions, lifting the title for the second year in a row under Hansi Flick and adding the Spanish Super Cup to the cabinet along the way. Across the city in Madrid, the mood could not have been more different. Real Madrid ended the campaign without a single major trophy for the second consecutive season, an outcome that has accelerated talk of yet another change in the dugout at the Santiago Bernabeu."

"Jose Mourinho is widely expected to be the man taking over, although the upcoming presidential elections and complications with his release clause at Benfica have slowed the process down. Flick was asked about the looming Mourinho appointment in the press conference that followed Barcelona's 3-1 defeat to Valencia on the final matchday. The Barcelona boss made it clear that the identity of the man on the opposite bench will not change his approach."

""Of course, I'm prepared to face Mourinho. Why not? He's a coach like any other, and I'm always ready for anyone," the German said (h/t Goal). Flick's words seem calculated for a manager who endears himself as the 'Special One'. Mourinho is no stranger to Barcelona himself, having previously reflected on his time as an assistant at the Camp Nou under Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal."

"A potential return to the Real Madrid dugout would reignite one of the most charged subplots in modern football, and it would do so against a Barcelona side that has just laid the foundations of what feels like a new era. Real Madrid are expected to confirm the Portuguese as Alvaro Arbeloa's successor in the coming weeks. Until then, Flick has made his stance clear. Barcelona will be ready, regardless of who walks into the away dugout at Montjuic next season."

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