It remains true to this day that the journey of Xavi Hernandez at FC Barcelona was not an easy one. The Catalan coach, not the player, has come under a lot of scrutiny and criticism. While the player version of him was almost always flawless, the Barcelona coach leaves something far from an ideal legacy.
However, beyond just the external criticism and noise that plagued Xavi’s tenure as Barcelona coach, there have been several internal issues as well. The Blaugrana coach, despite his best efforts, did not always seem to have the support of the dressing room, even when they would make it out to look like he did.
The latest update provided by SPORT does nothing but add fuel to that same fire. As per this new update, there was a major heated clash between the Barcelona coach and his players in the locker room around the time the Catalan club was facing off against Rayo Vallecano.
Reportedly, the Barcelona locker room had a very ‘cold’ atmosphere that day, something that Xavi and his coaching staff picked up on. They asked the players about whatever was bothering them, and they collectively talked about leaks in the media that suggested that the now-former Barcelona coach had given the club a list of the players and whether or not he saw them fit to continue at the club.
Among the most frustrated of these players was Ronald Araujo, who believed that the leaks severely questioned his ability and doubted his loyalty to the club possibly. However, Xavi addressed all the players present there and assured them that these leaks were nothing but vague noise from within the media.
Furthermore, the Barcelona coach at the time asked his players to not focus on such speculation. Instead, he addressed his players and assured them that he would not be one to talk about them behind their backs. Xavi continued by stating that he had always been upfront about what he thought, and that would always remain the case.
To highlight this further, the Barcelona legend even brought up the cases of Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, two of his closest friends, who he had to break some heartbreaking news to and ended up disclosing his decision to see them part ways with Barcelona.
With Xavi now gone, it seems that a lot of internal conflicts added to his departure. Whatever the case may be, it seems that the Barcelona legend remains loyal to the club, and continues to show acts of kindness towards it. In his place, however, Hansi Flick now arrives to coach the club as Barça moves forward with a new leader in charge.
