Barcelona star reveals threat used by Hansi Flick to drive discipline
- Pedri has been crucial to Hansi Flick's brilliant start to life as Barcelona manager
- The incoming German coach has scrapped Xavi's approach to discipline
- Despite strict penalties, Pedri says players are enjoying working with Flick
Barcelona midfielder Pedri has revealed that Hansi Flick has replaced Xavi's fines system with a "worse" punishment for players who are late; they simply don't play.
The ephemeral playmaker has been at the heart of Barcelona's revolution under Flick this season, appearing in all 16 fixtures as the Catalan giants go in search of scoring records. Pedri didn't get on the scoresheet but was once again impressive in four-goal displays against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid last month.
After an underwhelming final season under Xavi Hernandez, which saw Barcelona finish ten points adrift of Madrid at La Liga's summit, Flick has revitalised the entire club.
When Xavi tried to implement a similar overhaul upon his arrival in November 2021, he stressed the importance of discipline, introducing an economic incentive to encourage his players to obey his new list of rules. Pedri explained Flick's amendment to these rules.
"Every coach has his punishments," the midfielder outlined as a guest on the Spanish chat show Martinez y Hermanos. "With Xavi, the fines doubled every minute. The money from the fines was used to pay for meals and we normally donated it to charities. With Flick, it's not like that anymore. If you arrive late, you don't play. For me, not playing is worse."
While Pedri has remained on the right side of Flick's law, not every player has been so disciplined. The in-form defender Jules Kounde was dropped for Barcelona's trip to Alaves at the start of October after arriving late. The 18-year-old academy graduate Hector Fort started in place of the France international, who was quickly reintegrated into the team after serving his punishment.
Pedri suggested that Flick's penchant for punctuality stemmed from his nationality. "He has very clear ideas and as a German he's straightforward, especially when it comes to time, schedules and such, he's very straightforward." However, that's not to say that the head coach cannot be affable, despite not speaking fluent Spanish.
"It's true that we have a translator and all the conversations are translated for us, but he's very friendly," Pedri noted. "I thought he was much more serious than he is on a day-to-day basis.
"Above all, he worries about those who don't play, he talks to them so they're okay and he surprised me for the better. He makes us enjoy ourselves on the pitch."
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