Four weeks after ensuring its continuity, Barcelona informed Xavi this Friday that he will not continue as coach for next season, as reported by the Catalan club in an institutional statement.
The meeting between the parties took place at the Joan Gamper Sports City, with the coach and his coaching staff on one side and the leaders on the other. Among the latter were the president Joan Laporta and the sports director, the Portuguese former midfielder Deco.
It is worth remembering that Xavi had announced in January that he would leave at the end of the season, but in April he backed out after some conversations at Laporta’s own house and a series of conditions set by the club that did not come to light.
“How badly they treat their legends”
Xavi’s cycle will come to an end this Sundayon the last date of the Spanish League, when his Barcelona visits Sevilla from 4 p.m. (DSports television). The meeting will serve as a mere farewell since all the positions of interest are defined in the Spanish championship: champion, qualified for European cups and relegations.
“I shouldn’t say it but how badly Barcelona treats its legends. With Koeman, with Messi, with Xavi now, how badly. I wish the clubs would treat their legends well,” said Quique Sánchez Flores in the preview. Sevilla manager.
With 82 points, Barcelona is assured of runners-up status, behind champion Real Madrid (94) and ahead of third place, Girona (78). Xavi had just won the team champion last season, in his first league title of the post-Messi era and the only one in the last five years (two with Rosario). But 2023/24 turned out to be more than disappointing, far from the fight for the title on the local front from the first dates and with elimination in the quarterfinals in the Champions League (against PSG).
Xavi, 44 years old and a fundamental piece of the legendary Barcelona squad that managed to win four Champions Leagues between 2005 and 2015 – a period in which he was also world champion with Spain -, He took charge of the team at the end of 2021, replacing the Dutchman Ronald Koeman. He had spent his entire career as a coach in Qatari football.
His great debt was in the European cups: eliminated in the group stage in their first two Champions Leagues, moving on to the Europa League where they finished in the quarterfinals and 16th respectively. This year, with the quarterfinals against PSG, it was his best performance.
Xavi’s record is 141 games coached with 89 wins, 24 draws and 28 losses. Against Real Madrid, which during its cycle was twice Spanish champion and is on the verge of winning its second Champions Leaguehas a record of four wins and six losses, but the last four matches were owned by Madrid.
The German Flick, candidate
Thus, it is expected that in the coming days Barcelona will announce its new coach and all versions suggest that The position will be occupied by the German Hans-Dieter Flick.
Flick, 59, comes from a brief stint with his country’s national team: just 25 games, including the elimination in the first phase of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. He previously became European champion with Bayern Munich, leading in the historic 8-2 victory against Barcelona in the quarterfinals in 2020, with names of the caliber of Messi, Suárez, Busquets and Piqué still on the Catalan side. He was also part of the German coaching staff in the championship won in Brazil 2014.
