The time that Xavi Hernandez spent at FC Barcelona has not always been well received. Despite his best efforts, the Spaniard was unable to replicate his successes from his first full season. Eventually, it became clear that his last season at Barcelona could not be considered anything but disappointing.
While there were definitely some positives to take away, much of the media and recent statements have focused on the negative aspects. From the words of Barcelona president Joan Laporta to the complaints of both players and former coaches, a lot of negativity has been directed towards Xavi recently.
As highlighted by MARCA, a lot of varying statements have highlighted different issues people have had with Xavi, whether it be done implicitly or explicitly. This has involved the likes of Laporta, Ronald Koeman, Frenkie De Jong, and others connected to Barcelona.
The words of Koeman, for instance, were directed towards Barcelona and implied that Xavi and the rest of the coaches forced Frenkie De Jong, one of the key players for not just Barça but also Koeman’s Netherlands team, to play when he should have had more time to recover:
“Frenkie de Jong has a history with this injury and his club has taken risks with him. That leaves us in a bad situation.”
Even the Barcelona star himself admitted that he perhaps was rushed when he returned from his injury: “The second time, maybe, I started playing too soon and the injury was still on my mind.”
MARCA also reports that there were other complaints about Xavi’s tenure at Barcelona as well. One of the most frequent ones, reportedly, revolves around the training sessions and how underwhelming they could be at times.
A player, whose name has not been revealed, reportedly stated the following to one of his close acquaintances about the training sessions: “In Barcelona, you train for an hour and then go home.”
Even Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, critiqued the team’s physical preparations and insists that it is one of the reasons why he believes Hansi Flick to be the right successor to Xavi:
“We believe that with a more experienced team and the physical edge it needs… The team needs more preparation. We believe that with Flick the team can gain physical strength, which has been lacking to win… From the 60th minute, the team would drop, not finishing the game in the same way, as could be seen in the matches against Real Madrid.”
Even apart from just complaints, it appears that players themselves are showing a sense of readiness to renew their contracts since Xavi’s departure.
This includes the likes of Ronald Araujo, as pointed out by MARCA, who was previously at a crossroads that may have seen him leave Barcelona at some point potentially.
Even Vitor Roque’s treatment, for instance, is another critique that is often seen being made of Xavi’s tenure.
Alas, what is done is done. Barcelona have moved on, and Xavi, for now, remains silent in the face of this criticism.
In his own way, the Blaugrana icon did what he could to help the Catalan giants find their way again. With Hansi Flick now in charge, there is a lot of excitement about what is to come next season.
