The biggest issue Barcelona faced last season was around the training ground.Hansi Flick’s side successfully defended their Liga title and won the Supercopa de Espana in 2025-26. Even though they didn’t progress beyond the Champions League quarter-finals, losing to Atletico Madrid, the campaign was judged a success.However, there were also major tensions between players and the fitness coaching team led by Julio Tous — as The Athletic exclusively revealed in November.Barca have decided to act.This week, the club announced the arrival of German fitness coach Benjamin Kugel, who will take up a role with the first team. The statement on Barcelona’s website was brief, but multiple sources have told The Athletic that Kugel will replace Tous.Barca sources — speaking anonymously, like others consulted for this article, as they did not have permission to comment — also said head coach Hansi Flick raised the topic of last season’s fitness coaching problems during talks over his new contract until 2028, which he signed in May.Multiple senior decision-makers at the club were initially reluctant to take Tous away from his duties with the first team, as they believed the problems were broader than him. But after assessing the situation and what all the sides involved thought, a decision was made — one that reflects Barca’s complete faith in Flick.Benjamin Kugel has worked for various European sides, including PSV in 2022 (Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images)Kugel, 46, worked with Flick in the German national team setup. Both were part of the squad that won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when Joachim Low was coach and Flick was assistant manager. Kugel also has extensive experience at club level, having worked with Werder Bremen, Koln, PSV and Benfica.