Barcelona Sporting Director Deco has been doing damage control after comments that the club needed to break with the past and change their model went viral. Including with manager Xavi Hernandez.
The Brazilian-Portuguese spoke to Nascer do Sol last week, where he made those comments, which he later claimed were misinterpreted – the magazine itself then issued a note of clarification, saying that Deco was referring to their spending and not their method of play. Xavi was also caught off guard during his press conference, saying that he was unaware of any issues Deco had with the style.
🚨 Laporta rejected Conceição's option because he does not have Barcelona's DNA. @10JoseAlvarez
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 12, 2024
The pair met on Monday to clear the air on the matter, and Deco explained he did not want to cast doubt on the model of play. Marca claim that Xavi was content with his explanations, and felt Deco’s views were genuine.
While the story only garnered more reaction after Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Granada, Deco did not feel the need to correct his words for the three days beforehand. Deco and Xavi were rumoured to have a rocky relationship towards the end of their time in the dressing room, while there have always been suspicions that he believes in a much more direct game than Barcelona have played with Xavi in the side.
I totally agree 100% with deco he shouldn’t have to backtrack or explain himself or his comments to anyone imo what he said about changing the style and breaking from the past are spot on imo