“Xavi Hernández will no longer be coach at the end of the season. During a meeting that took place at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, president Joan Laporta informed Xavi Hernández that he will not continue as first team coach for the 2024-25 season.. Through a press release published this Friday, FC Barcelona formalized the (second) departure of Xavi, who will therefore lead his last match in Seville during the 38th day of La Liga. A final twist when the former Culers midfielder had, initially, decided to stay after speaking with his president, Joan Laporta, at the end of April. How, then, can we explain such a turnaround?
Quickly, the Catalan press affirmed that the management had not at all appreciated the comments of the 44-year-old manager on the poor finances of the club. Furious, Joan Laporta then asked Deco to start looking for a successor to Xavi on the sidelines for next season. If the Culers are now nearing their goal since Hans-Dieter Flick is about to settle down in Catalonia, Sport And Mundo Deportivo return, this Saturday, behind the scenes of the ousting of the Spanish coach. Enough to considerably modify the reasons for this departure…
A story of trust…
Concretely and feeling the wind turning, the former Spanish international first sent a message to his president to ask him if “everything was already decided”. In response, Laporta then went to the Ciutat Esportiva, where Xavi was leading the training session, to speak to him. He also asked to be accompanied by the vice president of sports, Rafa Yuste, and the sports director, Deco. During this meeting, the main argument given by the higher-ups in Barcelona was ultimately not the media outing made by Xavi at a press conference. MD And Sport indicate, in fact, that the management above all justified this dismissal because they had the feeling that Xavi did not trust the current team and that, therefore, the best thing to do was to find a new profile.
If Xavi responded to his interlocutors that he had confidence in his squad, the Spanish press added that the Barcelona technician considered, despite everything, that changes had to be made to improve future performances. In mutual respect, everyone was finally able to express their arguments, without changing the final fate. Frustrated by his lack of control over sporting planning, Xavi will indeed leave his place on the Catalan bench. It now remains to be seen whether his announced successor, Hans-Dieter Flick, will benefit from greater room to maneuver to implement his ideas…
