Mundo Deportivo: Barcelona once introduced Flick to Mourinho’s past controversies and advised him not to talk about him

According to Mundo Deportivo, after Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid as head coach was confirmed this summer, Barcelona introduced Flick to a series of controversies that occurred during Mourinho’s first spell in charge of Real Madrid and gave him a very clear piece of advice: “Do not say a single word about Mourinho and Real Madrid.” Flick has also strictly followed this advice so far.

Flick has always been a very cautious coach. The German manager has enough composure and experience, and rarely allows himself to become involved in controversies, especially at press conferences. What he says publicly has always been very clear: his priority is to discuss the next match and Barcelona’s upcoming opponents. However, for some situations that Flick did not experience closely at the time and now needs to be particularly aware of, giving him advance reminders was not a bad thing.

In the first episode of the fourth season of Mundo Deportivo’s La Posesión program, which aired on Monday, David Bernabeu revealed the advice Barcelona had given Flick regarding Mourinho. This happened this summer, when Mourinho’s return as Real Madrid head coach had been confirmed.

Barcelona introduced Flick to what happened during Mourinho’s first spell at Real Madrid, as well as the series of controversies that emerged one after another at that time. Compared with today, Mourinho was more intense and confrontational back then. However, even so, there was still a need to remain cautious, and some people believe that the current Mourinho is like a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

The club also mentioned to Flick the conflict between Mourinho and the late Tito Vilanova, including the famous “finger in the eye” incident, while also referring to the enormous exhaustion and pressure Guardiola experienced at the time. During that period, Barcelona dominated on the pitch but also faced significant external pressure. After explaining these situations to Flick, although the German coach had followed the events from a distance and was already somewhat aware of them, the club’s advice remained very clear: “Do not say a single word about Mourinho and Real Madrid.”

Flick is currently strictly following this advice and will continue to do so in the future. This approach also matches his personality, as he does not want to engage in such situations or become involved in arguments. Previously, at the pre-match press conference before Barcelona’s away league opener against Elche, when Flick was asked about Real Madrid and Mourinho’s return, he gave a very clear answer: “Are we playing Real Madrid tomorrow? Then ask me questions about Elche.”

This is also a way for Flick to avoid leaving room for the outside world to create controversy.

Of course, when the Clásico arrives, Flick will inevitably be asked about Real Madrid and Mourinho, and he will need to respond at that time. However, he will certainly remain as cautious as possible, with the aim of not saying anything that could be used by Mourinho and potentially lead to conflict. Meanwhile, Mourinho had already criticized refereeing issues on Monday.