Despite having agreed to go back on his word and continue on the Barcelona bench for the next season only about a month ago, the situation of Xavi Hernandez at the Catalan club has become extremely precarious in the last few days.
Tensions mounted between the coach and President Joan Laporta after the former made some comments in a press conference where he openly admitted that he would not be able to compete with Real Madrid next season with the squad he had in his hands.
In the ensuing days, it became increasingly apparent that Laporta would sack Xavi. FC Barcelona has now officially announced that President Joan Laporta has informed Xavi Hernández that he will not continue as the first team coach for the 2024-25 season.
Earlier, it was expected that the club will communicate Xavi’s departure this Monday, but this decision was brought forward to today.
The meeting in which this decision was communicated to Xavi was attended by all the top officials of the Catalan club, including Joan Laporta, Deco, Rafa Yuste, Xavi, and his assistants, Oscar Hernandez and Sergio Alegre.
For now, Xavi will remain in charge of the team till the last match of this La Liga season against Sevilla this Saturday. Thus, this will be the last time that Xavi leads the Barcelona team, after having joined the club in 2021, and having won the Spanish Super Cup and a La Liga title during his time as a trainer.
With Xavi’s departure, the person looking most likely to take the reins at the Catalan club is the German coach Hansi Flick. Officials from Barcelona have already undertaken a meeting with the former Bayern Munich manager.
Hansi Flick is expected to be announced as the new manager of the team on the coming Monday, and starting from that day, Barcelona will embark on a new journey, which will hopefully bring a lot of glory to the club.