The Spanish Federation has ordered Barcelona to shorten their two-week international break by three days. They will now play Osasuna in a rescheduled La Liga encounter on Thursday, after the original fixture was postponed due to the untimely death of Carles Miñarro, Barca’s first team doctor.
Players like Ronald Araujo and Raphinha won’t be available
Given the short period of time between games and the possibility that important players like Ronald Araujo and Raphinha won’t be available because they’re too exhausted from their international obligations, the scheduling has caused some anxiety at Barca.
Hansi Flick has confirmed that neither of them will play when La Liga resumes, which comes forty-four hours after Brazil’s World Cup qualifying match against Argentina which began more than 10,000 miles away.
🚨❌ Hansi Flick: “Araujo and Raphinha will NOT play against Osasuna”.
“The journey is too long and they need rest”. pic.twitter.com/5nIXJ16ZBY
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 26, 2025
“They are not going to play,” Flick said. “The flight is long, it’s not the ideal situation. They have to train, recover, rest. We will see about Sunday [when Barcelona play again].”
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The Catalans will play their next league match less than 72 hours later
The Catalans will play their next league match less than 72 hours later again when they meet their local rivals, Girona, in the Catalan derby.
Having to play this game on this date is not particularly pleasant for either team, but Barca is particularly hurt because they now have to play nine games in 28 days.
Additionally, there might be more rotations on Thursday, which might mean resting important players who played a lot during the international break, like Jules Kounde or Lamine Yamal.
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Barcelona have a tough match against Atletico Madrid on April 2nd
Flick is expected to rotate his team a lot in order to keep them fresh for the journey to the Metropolitano because they have a tough match against Atletico Madrid on April 2nd (the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final).
Flick Comments
Flick said: “I am not happy with this situation. You see how other leagues do it and it is different. It is not about Barcelona, it is about protecting players. But I can’t change anything. We are going to play.
“I don’t want to talk about it much; we have to accept it. They said you have to play and so we play. Maybe Uefa and Fifa need to say its necessary for [players to have] two or three days rest after the international break. I don’t want to tell you what my reaction was when I found out.
