Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez looks set to be sacked at the end of the season, and whether justly or not, it’s a decision he has talked himself into. President Joan Laporta had decided to continue with Xavi just 23 days earlier amid plenty of doubts, but Xavi’s press conference ahead of their 2-0 win over Almeria appears to have lit the fuse that will end his time in the dugout.
According to multiple sources, Laporta was furious with Xavi for two of the statements that he made ahead of the game, feeling that Xavi had gone back on the agreements they had come to during the meeting to discuss his future. One of those was to show confidence in the current squad, but when Xavi was asked whether Barcelona could compete with the current answer, there was an element of doubt in his response, albeit reality for others.
“We are going to try to compete against Madrid. I think that the cule must understand that the situation is very difficult. Above all, on an economic level. We have an economic situation that has nothing to do with 25 years ago, we can no longer go out and pick and say ‘I want this one, this one, and that one.’ We are not in the same conditions than other clubs with very advantageous economic situations.”
🚨 BREAKING: Xavi's continuity never had the full support of the board. After the Girona game, doubts started to appear. @jordicardero
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 17, 2024
“The Barcelona fans have to understand it. That does not mean that we do not want to compete, but that is Barca’s situation at the moment. We need stability and time, but we will try to compete.”
Equally, Xavi revealed some of the uncertainty behind the scenes at Barcelona regarding the arrival of Vitor Roque, whose lack of game time has become a hot-button topic in Catalonia, with the Brazilian’s future in the air. That is, according to Diario AS, despite Xavi ‘expressly requesting that Roque’s signing was brought forward to January himself’, something he did not take responsibility for publicly.
“That’s how we planned it. We hadn’t planned for him coming so soon, we planned it for the summer, so he could continue learning as a player. Then we decided it was for the best for the club and for him, we had the chance to bring him in because of the injuries to Gavi and Balde, so that he could train, get to know the club and his teammates, and then compete with his teammates.”
“The debate, for me, I don’t understand it. He is learning. There are footballers ahead of him, who are in better conditions, and that is why he plays less. These things have happened all my life.”
Patently, those statements are not the only thing that has done for Xavi’s job, but it is a symptom of perhaps the most damaging part of his management this past season, beyond not winning enough games. His discourse has frequently brought more scrutiny on Barcelona than necessary, and increased the hysteria at the club, rather than calmed it. The finger has been pointed in many different directions for their lack of success this season, and on Wednesday it fell on the wrong person.
I think xavi is right, what do we have to compete with Madrid. The have everything. Money, quality players. Even buying more. Mbape is coming. We should stop blaming xavi and give him what he need to do the work. He has been managing since. Let’s stop talking about getting another coach. Rather we should incourage him to do better.
Barça management needs to publicly own the financial disaster the previous administrations brought upon it. The fan base will continue to pay up and support the club, even if they get rid of all their “expensive” stars and go with younger, cheaper players for a few years. Sure they will probably finish mid table, but will start healing financially. The pipe must be paid. Until the financial situation is in order, Madrid will continue to dominate. The only way to cut spending is cutting the highest players and their salaries. Sell them for what you can get and go young and cheap.