The internal turmoil within FC Barcelona keeps increasing tenfold with each passing day. Xavi, who was initially supposed to leave at the end of the season later changed his mind, only for the club President to reportedly lose faith in him. Now, the former Spanish international is confused and doesn’t know what the future holds for him.
Xavi announced that he would leave Barcelona after a 5-3 home defeat to Villareal earlier this season. The amount of pressure he was under was taking a toll on him and he insisted that no matter what happened, he would be leaving the club.
President Joan Laporta, however, was not going to let Xavi go without a fight. Not finding a suitable replacement on the market, Laporta somehow convinced Xavi to stay behind, and the latter agreed.
The Blaugrana fans finally had a clear future to look forward to; that was until their game against Almeria on Thursday.
Xavi spoke about the financial difficulties within the team, and how the board was in no place to back a manager with their desired players. This didn’t sit well with Laporta, who has now decided on not having the 44-year-old manage the Catalan club next season onwards.
As per Spanish journalist Jose Felix Diaz, Xavi “doesn’t know what is happening” at the club. He continues to oversee training for now, not knowing whether there is a future for him.
Neither Laporta, nor Xavi can boast of stability on the pitch either, with Barcelona suffering a trophyless season in which they lost to bitter rivals Real Madrid twice.
Per Marca, Laporta feels betrayed that Xavi went public to criticize the board. He has already made up his mind that the latter won’t be a Barcelona head coach heading into the new season.
Academy coach Rafael Marquez remains the favorite to replace the legendary former midfielder, who during his playing career, guided Barcelona to so much success.
