Why is Pablo Torre still not playing at Barça? The truth behind his situation

Published:7/02/2025 - 22:53h

Updated:7/02/2025 - 22:53h

Pablo Torre was one of the few players with a serious expression after FC Barcelona's 'five-goal' victory over Valencia. The match seemed ideal to give the Cantabrian some playing time, but Hansi Flick left him on the bench

Hansi Flick has not changed his mind about Pablo Torre's role in the FC Barcelona squad. Despite the midfielder's decision to reject offers in the winter market, the coach still considers him the last option for the Blaugrana midfield and made this clear to him on Thursday in Mestalla. The flow of the match (culé victory 0-4 in just 30 minutes) seemed ideal for the Cantabrian to gain quality minutes. However, he remained on the bench for the entire second half.

The coach substituted Iñigo Martínez and Gerard Martín for Pau Cubarsí and Alejandro Balde at halftime. Then Dani Olmo and Marc Casadó came on for Pedri and Raphinha, with 26 minutes remaining. Héctor Fort was the last change, ten minutes from the end, to give Jules Koundé a rest. Thus, Torre remained on the bench once again and has played only 106 minutes so far in 2025. In La Liga, against Valencia, he came on in the 78th minute only because Gavi gave up his spot.

Pablo Torre preferred to stay at Barça, despite having offers

The Cantabrian's decision, however, was to stay in Barcelona despite the insistence of clubs like Porto and Bournemouth to sign him. The Portuguese were the most insistent in the final stretch of the winter market, but Pablo stood firm. The player from Soto de la Marina already went through a similar situation in his first year with the Blaugrana (2022-23), where he played only 16 matches (583 minutes), four of them as a starter.

This season, the '14' is on track to complete similar records, as he has only accumulated 373 minutes of action in a dozen appearances (five as a starter) where, however, he has responded positively, with 4 goals and 3 assists. In that sense, Flick has been clear with him from the beginning: he is a player he likes, but he does not play due to the tough competition in his position.

The return of Gavi and the good form of Fermín López even cast doubt on Dani Olmo's starting position. Hence, for Torre, there is little expectation regarding a change in his role from now until the end of the season. Still, the 21-year-old player will continue to wait for the minutes that, in theory, the demanding Blaugrana schedule should provide him starting in March, when the team returns to action in the Champions League and the always inconvenient international breaks return.