Barcelona young midfielder set to become Hansi Flick’s ‘weapon’ in 2026

Following his return from a lengthy injury layoff due to an ACL injury, many Barcelona fans expected Marc Bernal to have a prominent role in the team.

After all, he had become a starter last season, when the unfortunate injury occurred, sidelining him for a year.

However, his reintegration into the team has been much slower and methodical, with manager Hansi Flick taking a cautious approach.

Bernal, Flick’s weapon for the new year

However, according to SPORT, Bernal is set to become the Barcelona manager’s ‘weapon’ as the team kickstarts the new year.

Indeed, the idea is for Bernal’s role to grow and for him to become a more realistic and regular option in the rotation than what has been the case so far.

Flick and his technical staff were very clear about the roadmap from the outset. The teenage midfielder was always going to be reintroduced very gradually, avoiding, above all, in the first few months, situations of competitive stress.

The ideal scenario was for Bernal to accumulate minutes in matches with less tension. The problem was that, in the early parts of the season, there were very few games of that type.

Bernal set to grow more prominent. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

A run of injuries and setbacks meant that Barcelona rarely enjoyed comfortable fixtures, which limited Bernal’s opportunities to have a greater impact.

At times, understandably, the player himself became impatient. By the end of November, with more than three months of the season completed, he had played just 62 minutes, spread across short appearances.

Bernal’s mood lifted sharply with his first start on 29 November against Alaves. He played 45 encouraging minutes, showing good physical condition and flashes of the quality he had displayed during that brief spell in August 2024 before his injury.

From there, he added 28 minutes against Real Betis, 46 minutes against Guadalajara and a further 25 minutes to close out the year against Villarreal.

That positive feeling at the end of 2025 is expected to continue and even increase at the start of 2026.

January and February will bring a heavy schedule, with Copa del Rey, Supercopa, La Liga and two Champions League matches. In that context, the La Masia midfielder is expected to feature more regularly.

With defensive absences and Eric Garcia covering multiple roles, often playing as a holding midfielder, everything points towards Bernal gradually taking on more responsibility as the pivot, while Eric can also rotate back into the heart of defence.