- Barcelona trails a distant second with 82 points
- He had earlier raised concerns about the club’s financial situation
- It makes it difficult for Barcelona to compete with Real Madrid
The legendary Xavi is leaving Barcelona after Sunday’s final game for the team.
Hansi Flick according to the club will take over as the new head coach of Barcelona. Club president Joan Laporta reportedly communicated to Havi about his exit following a meeting on Friday held at Barcelona’s training ground.
Flick and Barcelona were in close communication for months regarding this. However, the German manager’s camp denied these reports severally.
Yet, his agent Pini Zahavi, and the club’s sporting director Deco met this week in London to seal the deal. Flick is an ex-manager of Bayern Munich.
Why Xavi is Leaving Barcelona
His exit from the club has a lot to the club losing their La Liga title this season to Real Madrid. Los Blancos is sitting at the top of the standings with 94 points and a game in hand.
On the other hand, Barcelona trails a distant second with 82 points and a game in hand on Sunday. Even if they win; Real Madrid are already the La Liga champions 2023/24 season.
Xavi Hernandez. Photo/Eurosport
But Xavi’s stay in Barcelona was hanging on the balance even before his meeting with Laporta that sealed his fate.
Not too long ago, the Spanish football manager wanted to leave Barcelona and later decided against it. After a dismal season, he declared he would stay on as Camp Nou’s coach but Laporta and top club officials decided to let him go.
When Did Xavi Want to Leave Barcelona?
He resigned in January stating that he would leave Camp Nou during the summer but later rescinded this decision. The 44-year-old stated in April that he reconsidered his stand after his players demonstrated to him their belief in the team’s potential despite the heavy hammering by Read Madrid.
Sports Director Deco stated that the team was not searching for a new coach despite Xavi making his intention to leave the club clear.
After announcing that he was abandoning his plans to leave the club, Laporta told team supporters that they should be “proud” to have the Spaniard lead the club at a press conference.
All seemed well until the outgoing Camp Nou manager talked about the club’s finances which rubbed Laporta the wrong.
Xavi Hernandez. Photo/ Daily Post Nigeria.
Xavi in a press conference said that the club’s financial situation would in no way enable its players compete against Real Madrid in La Liga and UEFA.
Laporta was displeased with Xavi’s according to multiple media reports. The aftermath is his sacking after changing his mind on leaving Barcelona.
Did Laporta Like Xavi?
Laporta thanked Havi for his time at Camp Nou saying that he contributed to the team’s excellent performance in the past.
In a statement on Friday, Barcelona said: “The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, has informed Xavi Hernandez that he will not continue as coach of the first team in the 2024-25 season.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Photo by Marca
“Barcelona wish to thank Xavi for his work as coach, which is added to his unequalled career as a player and captain, and wish him all the luck in the world. He will take charge of his last game as first team coach this Sunday in Seville. In the coming days, Barcelona will communicate the new structure of the first team.”
In hindsight though, Xavi knew his job as a coach at Barcelona wasn’t easy. He described it as brutal and cruel.
Reportedly, Laporta convinced him to reconsider his stand and he successfully did so, so much that Xavi overlooked the club’s dire financial situation.
It became difficult for Deco to get his replacement between January and April and all they had left was to reason with him to stay.
He obliged and communicated that he was not leaving Camp Nou but he eventually did in a new twist of events.
The Spaniard replaced Ronald Koeman in November 2021 and led Barcelona to winning La Liga in his first year – 2022/23 as head coach.
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