When Barcelona players stepped into their temporary home at the Montjuic stadium on Saturday evening for their game against Osasuna, they were not fully aware of what had happened hours earlier.
As soon as the whole squad had arrived at the dressing room, they were told the club’s first-team doctor, Carles Minarro Garcia, had passed away at the age of 53 that afternoon in the city’s Gran Melia Torre Melina hotel, where Hansi Flick’s side had congregated, as they do before every home game.
It was then, after the news was broken to them, that the whole squad, led by their captains, decided they did not want to play last night’s La Liga match. Club executives then put in motion all the procedures with La Liga, the Spanish FA and Osasuna to postpone the game — a choice every party involved respected and supported.
The Barcelona players left the stadium soon after, visibly shocked by the news.
Minarro had not worked with them for very long but had become a very respected figure within the group after a season in which many Barca players experienced injury problems.
Always in our memory, Carles pic.twitter.com/HdGF6GyUev
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 9, 2025
This was Minarro’s first year with Barcelona’s first-team squad. He had been working at the club for over seven seasons, spending the majority of them leading the medical department of their futsal team.
Last summer, the club conducted a big revamp in their physical preparation, physiotherapy and medical departments. As reported by The Athletic, sporting director Deco led the assembly of a whole new team to take care of their first-team footballers. He appointed former Chelsea backroom staff member Julio Tous to lead the physical department. Former Spain national team physiotherapist Raul Martinez would also join the club and take an important role in that process.
In the medical area, department chief and long-serving doctor Ricard Pruna chose Minarro to become his most trusted lieutenant. Pruna and Minarro would alternate travelling with the team to away games, but at least one of them had to be there to tend to Flick’s squad at every match.
Minarro was regarded by those in the dressing room as a very reliable and respected professional. He kept a low profile but was not afraid to make bold decisions when he needed to.
A clear example of this took place last month, when Alaves visited in La Liga. The Catalans’ midfielder Gavi collided with opponent Tomas Conechny in an aerial battle, ending up with both players lying on the pitch potentially concussed.
Minarro stepped out to assist Gavi, who was able to return to his feet after initial treatment. As part of the protocol the club have in those situations, Minarro asked Gavi what day of the week it was — a simple question to test his awareness. “I don’t have a damn clue,” Gavi replied.
At that moment, Minarro ordered Flick to take him off. Gavi was claiming he was fit to continue, and requested his manager to let him stay on. Flick went to Minarro, asked about the situation, and the doctor insisted he had to be substituted. “You decide, you decide,” Flick told Minarro, as footage from Spanish TV station Movistar shows. Fermin Lopez then came on to replace Gavi.
Minarro was also on the pitch to assist both Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen when they suffered season-ending knee injuries earlier in the season.
On Saturday, Minarro had eaten lunch with multiple first-team players at the Torre Melina, as he did before every home game. Before that, he had assessed Robert Lewandowski, deciding he was not in an optimal physical condition and advising Flick to leave the 36-year-old striker out of his matchday squad.
All Barcelona players publicly expressed their condolences, but one of their messages was especially heartfelt. “Carles, thank you very much for everything you have done for me not just this year, but throughout my career,” forward Dani Olmo posted on social media.
Olmo had a special bond with Minarro. Before joining Barcelona, the doctor spent eight years working at the High Performance Centre of Sant Cugat, where a lot of Olympic athletes prepare for their competitions, a job he combined with roles at lower-league Spanish football clubs.
From 2004 to 2015, he was a doctor at Sabadell, Sant Andreu and Terrassa. At two of those, Sabadell and Terrassa, Minarro was the team doctor under first-team manager Miquel Olmo, the Barca and Spain player’s father. “You will be missed, and your soul always remembered in the team’s heart, but also my family’s,” added Dani Olmo in his message.
Mar Ballester, Minarro’s wife, posted a heartfelt statement on social media, adding a picture of her with her husband and their two children. “Full of sadness, I communicate the abrupt death of my husband, Carles Minarro, on March 8,” it said. “Husband, dad, brother, cousin, grandson… he is a person we will always remember.”
Amb molta tristesa, us comunico la sobtada mort del meu marit , Carles Miñarro el passat 8 de març. Marit, pare, germà, cosi, net, cunyat,…una gran persona que sempre recordararem. DEP pic.twitter.com/XujBIpyXU3
— Mar Ballester (@MarBallest87254) March 9, 2025
Barcelona’s club president Joan Laporta spoke to their own media channel, Barca One. “It is a situation of enormous sadness. We all loved him,” Laporta said. “We are in shock because it was very abrupt. We instantly reached his family and close people, to which we extended our condolences.”
President @JoanLaportaFCB shares his words following the passing of FC Barcelona first-team doctor Carles Miñarro Garcia. 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/YpTFG13Yo6
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 9, 2025
Saturday will go down as another tragic day in Barcelona’s history. In 2014, their then manager Tito Vilanova passed away after a long battle with cancer. In 1968, the club also mourned the death of their Argentinian player Julio Cesar Benitez the day Barca had to face Real Madrid in a league game.
On Sunday morning, Flick’s squad returned to training to prepare for Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 second leg at home against Benfica. Before the session started, the players, backroom staff and directors assembled on the pitch to honour their late doctor with a minute of silence.
Before training, the team held a respectful minute of silence in memory of Dr. Carles Miñarro Garcia. pic.twitter.com/R80BricaNb
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 9, 2025
Rest in peace, Carles Minarro.
(Top photo: Getafe and Atletico Madrid players held a minute’s silence for Minarro on Sunday; Denis Doyle via Getty Images)
