FC Barcelona are set to restructure their physical department entirely this summer, with Hansi Flick having made the overhaul a clear condition before departing for his summer break. According to Diario AS, as cited by Barca News Network, the German coach went directly to sporting director Deco with a demand for sweeping changes to the fitness staff ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
The most significant personnel shift sees Benjamin Kugel installed as the new head of the physical department, working alongside three remaining fitness professionals – Pepe Conde, Milos Mallol, and Andrés Martín. Julio Tous, previously a central figure in the department, has been relocated to a newly created area of optimisation and performance, where he will also work with the reserve and youth teams. Rafa Maldonado’s situation is still to be determined, with a reassignment to another club role not ruled out, while Germán Fernández – formerly responsible for strength training – moves to the reserve team setup.
The friction behind this reset traces back to the injury relapses suffered by Raphinha and Balde during the 2025-26 season. Flick had extended Tous’s responsibilities at the start of his second year in charge, giving him oversight of rehabilitation and recovery for injured players after a smooth first season in that role. The relapses, however, strained that relationship considerably, and Flick subsequently withdrew those added responsibilities from Tous before making the case for a broader shake-up.
The club had not always moved swiftly on Flick’s backroom requests – Barcelona showed reluctance over earlier staff additions – but on this occasion the board acted decisively. The restructure now gives Kugel a clear mandate to build the fitness infrastructure around Flick’s demands ahead of another Champions League push, with preseason training the first test of whether the new setup can reduce the relapse patterns that triggered this change. Barcelona’s post-season recovery plan was already drawn up with the July return date in mind, meaning Kugel’s department will need to be fully operational from the outset.
