Xavi Hernandez’s time as the FC Barcelona head coach may fast be approaching an end, especially as the team has crashed out of the Champions League and is also eight points behind Real Madrid in La Liga.
The former midfielder has already announced that he will leave the club at the end of the season, but despite the lack of silverware, there are a lot of people who will be left unhappy if this turns out to be the case this summer.
One of the players who has been most affected by Xavi’s decision to leave is the star striker Robert Lewandowski, who talked to Xavi after his announcement to reflect and also held a meal at his house to encourage the squad to work at their best and bring the season back on track.
However, the Pole had not commented on this situation in the ensuing months and has only done so now ahead of the crucial tie against Real Madrid. As SPORT has reported, the striker used this opportunity to highlight how difficult it is to be at a club like Barcelona and also gave some advice to Xavi.
Talking about the impact of media on players at Barcelona, Lewandowski said: “Many media outlets follow the day-to-day of the club and create situations and stories. Sometimes there isn’t a topic, and one has to be created, and if someone takes all this very emotionally, it can become very tough.”
The Polish veteran believed Xavi was suffering from this issue, and went on to advise his trainer on how one can avoid these unnecessary problems:
“At some point, I was very involved in all of this, and I realized that it’s a situation that can’t be prolonged over time. You have to stay on the sidelines to have a correct and fresh view of the situation and not an emotional one. If you’re emotionally involved in everything that happens around you, it’s tough and can become unbearable.”
The media has been abuzz with news of infighting in the Barcelona dressing room since Gundogan criticized Ronald Araujo for his mistake in the match against PSG. However, Lewandowski was clear that is only an image created by the media, and everything was fine in the squad:
“I have the impression that often the media is more concerned about these issues than we are. But I don’t think there was anything wrong with Ilkay’s statement, and nothing that was a personal attack on the other person. We are men. If there was something, it was probably explained, but at the moment there is no issue in the locker room.”
Hopefully, Lewandowski’s statements reflect the true state of the dressing room, as internal disunity is the last thing that Barcelona need right now. The Catalans have a crucial match against Real Madrid awaiting them tonight, and they need to win this match at all costs to remain in the race for the La Liga title.
