The future of Xavi Hernandez is the hot topic at Barcelona, and seems capable of going any which way. The consensus is that there is no firm plan from the leadership at the club, and talks this week are set to be decisive.
After months of the line being that President Joan Laporta was keen to persuade Xavi to stay, the narrative has flipped. Xavi reportedly wants to stay at the club after reconsidering his future, while Laporta is now having doubts, and there are others within the board that are against his continuity.
‼️ Explicat al #TuDiràs 🎙️ @aleixparise
⚠️ Al club no hi ha unanimitat sobre la continuïtat de Xavi i Laporta ha expressat algun dubte
👉 Per quedar-se, el club li posarà la condició de reforçar algunes àrees de l'staff
💼 El Barça no descarta fitxar un tècnic amb contracte pic.twitter.com/LiVT9Pdmxl
— El Barça juga a RAC1 (@FCBRAC1) April 23, 2024
According to RAC1, Barcelona will speak to Xavi imminently, and as they do so, request that if he is to continue, then they will impose conditions on his stay. One of, but not the only, changes that they will propose, are changes in his coaching staff, an area where they feel there is room for improvement.
🚨 Bernardo Silva's release clause of €58 is affordable for Barcelona if they return to the 1:1 rule. @ffpolo
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 24, 2024
If Xavi does not accept those changes, the number one option to replace him is Rafael Marquez, the Barca Atletic coach. Amid fresh optimism that they can return to within their salary limit this summer, and sign without restrictions, the possibility of signing a manager under contract elsewhere, or a manager with higher financial demands, is back on the table though.
Coaches such as Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel have been mentioned as alternatives, but Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi was in part discarded because of the price of signing him, believed to be in excess of €15m. This could further elongate matters though, as returning to a scenario without signing restrictions remains hypothetical, and will not be certain until the summer begins.
Currently Xavi is assisted by brother Oscar Hernandez, fitness coach Ivan Torres and coach Sergio Alegre. One of the criticisms of Xavi’s time at Barcelona is that in addition to not having much top-level management experience, the team around him is equally as inexperienced.
To be honest, Xavi deserved trust,support and respect, another chance given to him is the best option, the board should no building a standard project in Barcelona is not overnight is quite defferent compare to others out there, ultimately, this is Barcelona we are talking about the most difficult team to be handle on earth.
But the way he treat others different from others must especially Spanish guys,pedri for example,most of his signing are flop