Hansi Flick has warned Barcelona that Newcastle pose a serious threat to its Champions League ambitions as a product of “the best league in the world”.
Flick’s side visit St James’ Park on Tuesday for the first leg of the last 16 as heavy favorites to reach the quarter-finals.
Barcelona, five-time European champions, sit at the top of La Liga and boast a star-studded line-up j6sh.
Newcastle, on the other hand, are languishing in twelfth place in the Premier League and have never progressed beyond the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition.
But, citing the financial strength and power in the Premier League, Barcelona boss Flick is convinced Newcastle could threaten their bid for another European crown.
Highlighting the progress of six Premier League sides to the last 16, Flick told reporters on Monday: «The Premier League is a great league. For me it’s the best league in the world, and they have strong teams.
“Of course they also have a lot of money to hopefully make the right decisions, but they did it because they have how many, six teams now in the next round?
«We have to continue on our path, our style, how we want to play. This is our philosophy.»
«We also want to play here in the Champions League like Barca, because our supporters are proud of us and the way we play football, so we also want to show this tomorrow.»
It will be the second time this season that the clubs meet on Tyneside, with Barcelona winning 2-1 thanks to Marcus Rashford’s double in the first match of the group stage in September.
Newcastle have had a mixed season, but Flick knows they have saved their best for European matches.
«The Champions League is different. Everyone who plays at this stage now wants to show their best side,» he said.
«They are a team in transition; they have very fast players and very good players, excellent players, and we have to deal with that and manage it.»
Barca have traveled to England amid a row between club president Joan Laporta and Flick’s Camp Nou predecessor Xavi Hernandez.
With next week’s presidential elections also looming at the club, Flick is keeping his focus on the field.
“It’s now one of the most important weeks of the season because we want to get to the next round,” he said. “We have a game here and we have to concentrate on the game.”
Published on March 10, 2026
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