Thierry Henry believes one man is responsible for Barcelona’s recent success and it is NOT Hansi Flick

Former Bayern Munich and Germany manager Flick took charge of Barcelona in the summer, following the departure of former player Xavi.

Since the German’s appointment, Barcelona have been performing at a high level.

The Catalans currently lead La Liga, with 33 points from their first 12 matches and a nine-point gap over rivals Real Madrid. Flick has received considerable praise for turning the club’s fortunes around, but while discussing the Champions League on CBS Sports, Henry suggested that Xavi deserves the credit.

Henry stated: “I don’t think Hansi Flick started a new era…Xavi did. He’s continuing what Xavi did.

“Xavi started (Pau) Cubarsi, Xavi started Lamine Yamal, Xavi started a lot of the players there. So, he left, Hansi Flick arrived.”

Henry continued: “Yes, I do think that this team right now, because of the two years they’ve had playing together and enduring a tough season last year, that’s when you truly learn about your character, what you’re capable of, and how you’ll perform.

“I think this team right now should be regarded as one of the favorites to win the Champions League. Will they win it? You sometimes need to experience losing in the semi-final, or quarter-final, to understand how challenging it is to go further. But I believe they have the potential to go all the way.”

Ahead of Barcelona’s match against Crvena Zvezda, Flick remarked: “In the new Champions League format, only a win matters. Tomorrow will be a challenging game against a strong team with very quick forwards. Nevertheless, my team is doing very well. We need to give our all, as our goal is to be among the top 8.

“I’m not even looking at the table right now, as my only focus is on winning. Winning the Champions League requires a great deal of effort. Many strong teams share our objective, so we have to work hard.”

He added: “Our approach is to play cohesive football, with the entire team connected. We aim to be strong in both defense and attack.”