Despite some hairy spells, Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has had a fairly successful time in charge of the club since his appointment in November 2021.
The club legend took over from Ronald Koeman, who had a largely difficult time at Barca, despite winning the Copa del Rey in 2021.
When Koeman’s time ended, Xavi was the favourite of club officials from the start of the selection process, and he was inevitably brought over from Qatari side Al-Sadd. However, it could have been so different for the Blaugrana.
Barca cult hero Thierry Henry, who was teammates with Xavi for three seasons between 2007 and 2010, has revealed (via MD) that he recommended that the club go for then-Ajax boss Erik Ten Haag as Koeman’s replacement.
The Dutchman has since taken over at Manchester United, and has had a good start to life at the Premier League giants. However, he could have been managing Barca instead if they had listened to Henry, who is a huge admirer of Ten Haag.
“I’m a big fan of Ten Hag. I like him a lot. I recommended his signing to Barca when Koeman was fired, because he is a genius.”
Both managers are settled at their current clubs, but things could have been so different if Barcelona listened to Henry.
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