Xavi ‘nearly replaced Martino’

Tata Martino was close to resigning as Barcelona Coach mid-way through the season and Xavi Hernandez would have been his replacement.

Martino almost quit at the same time Sandro Rosell resigned, AS claim, citing reports from Cadena SER, and Josep Maria Bartomeu stepped into the Presidency.

Bartomeu and Andoni Zubizarreta considered appointing Xavi to the bench if Martino had stepped down, despite the midfielder lacking the necessary license to Coach in La Liga.

Once Martino decided to remain in his post, the idea was dropped. He was eventually sacked at the end of the season and replaced by Luis Enrique.

Xavi was said to be unaware of the situation and it’s not known if he would have accepted the offer of replacing the Argentine.

The playmaker is currently considering his future at Camp Nou and is due to meet with the club to discuss his next step.

Xavi is expected to accept the offer to move to Qatar, with former Barca President Joan Laporta involved in the machinations of the transfer.

AS say it’s a matter of time before a deal is confirmed and that Xavi will work with the Qatari Aspire academy, and be well remunerated for his trouble.

Tags Tata Martino Xavi Hernandez
La Liga - Club News