Barcelona players miss press conference ahead of Benfica clash

No Barcelona first team players will attend their UEFA Champions League press conference on March 10.

La Blaugrana welcome Benfica to Catalonia for a last 16 second leg on March 11 with Hansi Flick’s hosts carrying a 1-0 first leg lead.

However, the last 48 hours have seen a major change in the Barcelona camp, following the postponement of their weekend La Liga home clash with Osasuna.

The decision was taken by La Blaugrana less than 30 minutes before kickoff following the tragic update that club doctor Carles Minarro Garcia had passed away.

The shock felt by the entire Barcelona squad was confirmed by club president Joan Laporta who paid tribute to a ‘beloved member of the Barcelona family’.

That has impacted Barcelona’s preparations for the Benfica game with training structured to allow players extra time to absorb the news.

As per reports from Mundo Deportivo, UEFA have accepted a request from Barcelona regarding their pre-match press duties.

Following a final training session held behind closed doors only Flick will speak to the media before the match.

No player is expected to miss the game – other than those already sidelined – but black armbands will be worn and a silence observed before kick off at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

Flick is expected to echo Laporta’s message as part of his match related updates ahead of facing Bruno Lage’s team.

With the bracket now set for the quarter finals onwards, Barcelona know they will face either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the next phase, if they progress past Benfica into the last eight.

That second leg takes place the day after, with the tie level after a 1-1 draw in Dortmund last week – looking beyond that, Barcelona are most likely to face either Bayern Munich or Inter Milan in a possible semi final at the end of April.