Following Xavi Hernandez’s announcement that he is stepping down as head coach of Barcelona at the end of the season, speculation has already been rife in regards to his possible successor. Several names have already been linked, including the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Imanol Alguacil.
Barcelona want to hire an experienced name as their next head coach, and the first team squad has now also waded into the debate. According to Sport, their preferred candidate to replace Xavi is something that is already very familiar with the club, that being current Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique.
Lucho is an icon at the Catalan giants, having spent eight years there as a player, as well as a very successful three-year spell as manager between 2014 and 2017, which included winning nine trophies.
The problem for Barcelona is that Luis Enrique is under contract at PSG until the summer of 2025, so they would need to pay a significant fee to appoint him. However, the likelihood is that Lucho would be open to returning, so there is a very slim chance that a deal could be done.
