Flick’s trust in Casado proven real by increased minutes

The beginning of the 12 months 2026 had not been an excellent one for the FC Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado, who noticed his minutes dip considerably within the first few weeks of January. In actual fact, he didn’t play even a single minute within the first three video games of the brand new 12 months, towards Espanyol, Athletic Membership, and Actual Madrid.

Casado managed to regain some rhythm when he performed 85 minutes within the Copa del Rey match towards Racing Santander, however he returned to the bench for the next video games towards Actual Sociedad and Slavia Praha. This lack of involvement sparked hypothesis a few potential departure for the 22-year-old midfielder throughout the winter switch window.

The turning level arrived on January 25 within the league match towards Actual Oviedo. Casado performed the total 90 minutes and delivered a efficiency that earned clear reward from Hansi Flick.

Since that sport, he has featured in each match, even when for restricted minutes, together with Copenhagen for 12 minutes, Elche for six minutes, Albacete for 25 minutes, and Mallorca for the total 90 minutes.

Flick’s choice to start out Casado towards Oviedo was greater than a gesture. Based on SPORTthe German coach’s belief within the younger midfielder is real. After the Oviedo match, Flick was unequivocal about Casado’s significance to the squad, stating:

“There’s no choice for me, I don’t need anybody to depart, we’d like everybody. And there’s no different choice we wish.”

The coach additionally highlighted Casado’s professionalism, including:

“Casadó is tremendous skilled and deserved to start out. I actually preferred what I noticed from him within the match—it’s the Casadó we wish.”

This was not solely a ploy from Hansi Flick to maintain Marc Casado in his squad throughout the winter, as the following matches have proven that the Barcelona coach is definitely relying on the midfielder, particularly with the hectic a part of the season nonetheless arising.