Barcelona face civil war over Xavi's future and successor

Tom Weber

Updated: 20 May 2024 19:53 BST
3 min read

Xavi will be sacked by Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 season — © IMAGO

Barcelona's president, vice president and sporting director all have differing opinions on who should coach the club going forward, according to Spanish media.

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Xavi was leaving, then staying and now he seems to be leaving again. Despite announcing in January that he would depart the club at the end of the season, the Spaniard eventually made a U-turn and decided to stay on board, as first called by FootballTransfers.

Last week, however, his future was yet again thrown into doubt. Unhappy with the 44-year-old's comments on Barcelona's financial situation and underused wonderkid signing Vitor Roque, president Joan Laporta was reportedly so furious he considered sacking Xavi on the spot.

Calmer heads prevailed but the situation is still said to be tense and it remains a distinct possibility that the tactician will leave the club this summer after all. However, not everyone at Barcelona is in favour of this course of action.

Barcelona's hierarchy split

At least that's according to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, who claims that Xavi can still count on the backing of vice president Rafa Yuste. Laporta and sporting director Deco, meanwhile, are said to be ready to move on from the club legend.

However, the two do not agree on who should replace the former midfielder. Deco is said to be in favour of his former teammate Thiago Motta and Barca Athletic coach Rafa Marquez. The former, however, it seems will stay in Italy, either with Bologna or Juventus from whom he has a three-year contract offer on the table.

Laporta, on the other hand, seems to be infatuated with German coaches as was already previously rumoured in the aftermath of Xavi's initial exit announcement. Hansi Flick, who is reportedly so keen on the Barcelona job he has started to learn Spanish, and departing Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel are the two names mentioned by Romero.

It remains to be seen how this situation will play out, but those who thought that Barcelona had left their drama era were sorely mistaking.