It has only been some weeks since both Joan Laporta and Xavi Hernandez appeared in a presser together to announce that the latter would remain in charge of the Barcelona team for the next season despite him having announced his decision to depart from the club in January.
But there has already been another radical turn in the situation, as recent reports indicate that Laporta is set to sack Xavi, as he is highly angered by some of the comments made by the head coach in a recent press conference, in which Xavi questioned his team’s inability to compete with Real Madrid with the current squad.
Laporta is angry mainly because Xavi had said that he could compete and fight for everything with the current team when the two met in the President’s house on April 24, when Laporta had convinced Xavi to go back on his word and stay in charge of the team.
According to Mundo Deportivo, as things stand, the President is determined to part ways with the head coach. However, there is currently no consensus in the club regarding Xavi.
Laporta is currently waiting for a report from Deco, who is currently in Portugal for an unavoidable personal commitment. Rafa Yuste himself could not provide any clear-cut answer to the press about the head coach’s future after the match against Almeria.
Yuste, Soler, and Enric Masip all met Laporta after returning to the club from the Almeria trip, and Deco was the only important official missing from this meeting. For now, despite Laporta’s anger, the club understands that the best thing to do now was not to unceremoniously get rid of the manager, but to talk to him.
The key meeting in this regard between Xavi and Laporta can take place this Sunday, after the match against Rayo Vallecano, in which Deco is also expected to be present.
While the Barcelona President does not want to continue with Xavi, he will also have to consider the economic implications of parting ways with him, as the club would have to pay up to €20 million to sever ties with Xavi, while more money would be needed to sign his replacement.
Thus, the club is yet to make a final decision on Xavi, and there are some important people who can influence Laporta not to take any radical decision in this regard.
