FC Barcelona and its head coach Hansi Flick are set to welcome what will essentially be a “new signing” for the first team this weekend.
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FC Barcelona and its head coach Hansi Flick are set to welcome what will essentially be a “new signing” for the first team this weekend.
Marc Bernal was one of the 2024 preseason campaigns main revelations as the German got to know the players at the Joan Gamper CT not long after taking over the reins from fired club legend Xavi Hernandez.
Taking advantage of an opportunity to impress Flick when called up from the reserves to train with the seniors, Bernal, alongside with near namesake Marc Casado, managed to book himself a ticket to the United States where the Blaugrana played a number of friendlies against the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City.
The two Marcs started in a double pivot for Flick on American soil, and managed to hold down their places as the 2024/2025 La Liga campaign got underway while fans became enamoured by their courageous and smart play.
Tragedy struck at Rayo Vallecano for FC Barcelona
During an away trip to Vallecas, however, Bernal’s trajectory was halted by a nasty ACL injury picked up during a comeback win against Rayo Vallecano.
The youngster then aged 17 had to watch from the sidelines as his teammates became the treble champions of Spain, but receiving medical clearance on August 7 this year gave the midfielder a boost.
Bernal has been cleared to play since September 9, and Mundo Deportivo expects him to be called up to the squad for a home meeting with Valencia which will be played at the tiny Johan Cruyff mini estadi as opposed to a reduced capacity Camp Nou.
Whether Bernal manages to get off the bench for his first competitive minutes in over 12 months is down to Flick, but he is guaranteed to get a rapturous reception from the 6,000 Culers in attendance that were season ticket holders at Montjuic in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
Bernal is essentially a ‘new signing’ for FC Barcelona
When a player has been out for such a significant amount of time, he is branded as being a “new signing” for his club by the Catalan and Spanish media.
Bernal is no exception to the case, and amid reported interest from Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, he can provide positional rivalry to Frenkie de Jong in the FC Barcelona midfield while Flick might also revive his previously successful partnership with Casado.