Xavi to be sacked! Barcelona left ‘deeply disappointed’ by head coach

Robin Bairner

Updated: 17 May 2024 09:28 BST
3 min read

Barcelona head coach Xavi will not continue with the club next season, according to a shock report from Catalunya.

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In a second dramatic U-turn, Barca president Joan Laporta has decided the club will not continue with the 44-year-old, who has been in charge of the Camp Nou side since 2021, according to Sport.

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Initially, Xavi announced that he would leave the club in the summer, but he had a change of heart and appeared destined to lead the Blaugrana into a new era at their redeveloped stadium.

The issue, though, appears to have been taken out of the legendary midfielder’s hands.

© IMAGO - Xavi is set to leave Barcelona after a shock report

Why will Xavi be sacked?

Laporta is unhappy with the comments Xavi has made to the press, in which he has stated that it will be impossible for Barcelona to compete with Real Madrid and Europe’s other major teams because of the financial difficulties of the club.

These economic problems have forced Barca to sell off huge chunks of their assets to remain competitive in recent seasons, and even if these have plugged some of the gaps, the debt remains high and they will again face difficulties in signing the targets their coach might have liked in the forthcoming transfer window.

Sport reports that these comments, which were made prior to Thursday’s 2-0 LaLiga success over Almeria away from home, caused “deep disappointment” in Laporta, who did not travel for the match, in which Fermin Lopez’s double sent Barca back into second.

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It is stated that Laporta has “decided to go back on his agreement with Xavi, which was sealed on 24 April, in which the Terrassa native retracted his announcement to leave the bench on 30 June”.

Xavi’s departure from Barcelona is expected to be made official after the penultimate league match of the season against Raye Vallecano, which takes place on Sunday, so long as second place in the table is secured.