Barcelona have finally pulled the chord on Ronald Koeman after a poor start to the season.
The Dutchman has been under intense pressure for weeks amid the club’s worst ever start in the Champions League, as well as poor results in La Liga.
Criticism of Koeman intensified further after Sunday’s El Clásico defeat to Barcelona, and on Wednesday night, the Blaugrana lost away to newly promoted Rayo Vallecano.
That proved the final straw for the Barca board and Koeman was sacked in the early hours of Thursday morning.
But where to Barca go next?
All signs are currently pointing to former midfielder Xavi, who has been in charge of Doha side Al-Sadd for the last two years.
According to Fabrizio Romano, talks began weeks ago and they will continue today to try to resolve any problems with Xavi’s current club.
Xavi is said to want the Barcelona job, and this could be one that moves pretty quickly given the club have had time to prepare for this almost inevitable eventuality.
