Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez appears to have settled on terms to extend his contract with the club, but the deal looks as if it will be shorter than first thought.
Initially it had been assumed that President Joan Laporta would renew Xavi until the end of his mandate, 2026. However Sport say that the deal will only be an extra 12 months on his current deal, which expires in 2024.
Part of the reason for this is their La Liga salary limit. A three-year contract, on increased terms too, would weigh far more heavily in terms of what Barcelona could spend.
Equally, the Catalan daily say that Xavi does not want to mortgage the future of the club, perhaps fearing that the finances could get in the way of purely sporting decisions in terms of his future. He will leave if things are going poorly without a major payout.
Taking that into account, Xavi and Joan Laporta’s relationship has functioned well so far, with Barcelona heading on a general upward trajectory since he returned to the club. Yet it is well known that Xavi was never Laporta’s first choice for the job, preferring first to retain Ronald Koeman, and commenting on multiple occasions that he was ‘too green’ for the job. A shorter contract also gives both an easier way out.
