Move marks a rare disciplinary step against one of the leaders in the Barcelona dressing room
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick left Raphinha out of his starting line-up against Valencia on Sunday after the Brazilian reported late for a pre-match session.
Club sources confirmed the 28-year-old winger was benched for arriving late to the morning’s muscle activation routine at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
Flick instead started Marcus Rashford on the left and handed a first start to 19-year-old Roony Bardghji, the summer signing from FC Copenhagen, on the right in place of the injured Lamine Yamal.
Raphinha is an automatic starter under Flick, and has contributed a goal and an assist across Barcelona’s opening three league fixtures this season.
The omission marks a rare disciplinary step against one of the leaders in the Barcelona dressing room, who played a decisive role in last year’s title-winning campaign with 34 goals and 25 assists across all competitions.
Flick has made punctuality a point of principle since taking charge. Last season goalkeeper Inaki Pena was benched for the Supercopa semi-final against Athletic Club in January after repeated lateness. It eventually cost him his place in the squad, with Wojciech Szczesny taking over.
Jules Kounde was also dropped from the line-up on three occasions after arriving late to pre-match meetings, with academy defender Hector Fort starting in his place each time.
Flick has always represented his stance as part of building discipline and standards within the squad, with the coach previously saying he wanted “no excuses” for lapses in preparation.
