Coach re-emerges as candidate to succeed Xavi Hernandez as Barcelona manager

Barcelona remain hopeful of convincing Xavi Hernandez to re-evaluate his decision to leave the club at the end of the season. At this stage, that appears to be their main objective, rather than searching for a replacement for the 44-year-old, who continues to state that his time in Catalonia will come to an end in the summer.

That could be the reason that Rafa Marquez is being lined up as a possible successor to Xavi, should Joan Laporta, Deco and the rest be unable to convince him to stay for another 12 months. Sport have reported that Barcelona have added the current Barca Atletic head coach to their managerial shortlist, as they value his work in the reserve team, and his knowledge of the youth academy and the youngsters who are already successful in the first team.

Marquez was initially disregarded as an option to succeed Xavi, but it now appears that he could be back on the agenda. It would certainly be a risky move for Barcelona to appoint him, despite his success with Barca Atletic this season.