Back in January, after Barcelona’s 5-3 defeat at home to Villarreal, Xavi Hernandez announced that he would be stepping down as head coach, with a decision that surprised many, despite the club’s poor run of form over the previous few months.
Since then, the Catalan giants have seen a resurgence. Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Las Palmas extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches across all competitions, with their last defeat being that match against Villarreal. They are now five points behind Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, albeit having played one game more.
In the weeks since Xavi announced his decision, several members of the Barcelona hierarchy have publicly noted their hope that the 44-year-old coach will decide to stay on, something that does not look likely so far. Vice President Rafa Yuste was the latest to do so, before the match against Las Palmas.
🚨🔵🔴 Barça board prepared a “long term project” with Xavi, reveals vice president Rafa Yuste.
“I hope and wish that he continues here because we are talking about a long term project with him, not a season or two”.
“We’re gonna try to convince Xavi, it’s up to him”. pic.twitter.com/7G322Mm9pI
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 30, 2024
Marca note that Xavi has been “constantly bombarded” with messages to rethink his decision. Barcelona officials are determined to keep trying, and they believe that if they appeal to his undisputed support of the club, he may decide to stay on.
It does seem like a lot of wishful thinking from Barcelona, and at this stage, they look to have put all of their eggs in one basket towards trying to keep Xavi at the club. The managerial search has gone quiet in recent weeks because of this, but they may need to kick things up a notch going forward.
