Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was in good spirits after his side eliminated Napoli from the Champions League on Tuesday night, sealing a 3-1 win late on. The Blaugrana coach, who is leaving at the end of the season, did not miss the opportunity to hit back at the media coverage of him though.
After the game he referenced an old article from November calling Barcelona the ‘fool of Europe’, which El Pais journalist Ramon Besa came out to explain. The pair had had a private conversation with Xavi claiming that Besa was writing in bad faith, something he denied strenuously.
#FCBarcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has a list of 25 journalists he feels are overly harsh on him. https://t.co/vqFq6XwEYO
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 13, 2024
Following Besa’s explanation on Cadena SER, Sique Rodriguez Gairi gave further background on the matter. He explained that Xavi has a list of 25 journalists that are ‘close to Pep Guardiola’ that he feels for certain are overly harsh in their criticism of him, and are out to get him with their analysis, believing their ‘attacks’ to be unfair. Rodriguez goes on to detail that in his opinion Xavi’s belief in this conspiracy is ‘wrong, and it harms him’.
Xavi: "During the season we have received criticism that I think is very unfair. We've shown that we are a Champions League team. Today the team was excellent."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 12, 2024
Xavi has been enormously critical of the media in recent months, citing the lack of appreciation for his work in the media as one of the reasons he is leaving the job in the summer, as well as the pressure of the job. There is no doubt that the criticism can be ferocious in Can Barca, and often occurrs within a political context, but equally Xavi has enjoyed a softer treatment than many other managers for his past with the club.
