Xavi wanted to ship out 4 Barcelona players, disagreements with Joan Laporta led to sacking – report

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is wrapping up his two and a half year spell in the hotseat, but expressed on Sunday night that in his eyes, his project was not finished. President Joan Laporta’s change of heart on Xavi has been attributed to some of his words in a press conference, but there were plenty of disagreements on squad planning too.

That is according to ESPN, who say that loanees Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo were not wanted by Xavi, and neither were Robert Lewandowski or Vitor Roque in Xavi’s plans for next season. He considered them extravagances of Laporta.

Meanwhile RadioMarca second that report, and Emilio Perez de Rozas gave an insight into the differences of opinion that made for a presumably tough atmosphere at the Ciutat Esoprtiva.

“Xavi changes his mind after the famous ‘sushi dinner’ and begins to see that the changes he wants to make to the team are not well regarded and that Laporta throws them at him like a dart. At that dinner they reach an agreement that he will present a strong front ahead of next season, but Xavi nuances his stance, and says that adjustments are needed. These adjustments are that he does not want Lewandowski and Joao Felix. In both cases, they are extravagances from Laporta, and when Xavi proposes this, he sees that his wishes will not be granted.”

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“Then, Xavi adds that, if there is a chance, Ronald Araujo and Raphinha would have to be sold. Then, he once again stumbles upon the impossibility imposed by Laporta. Xavi wants Nico Williams and Deco prefers Dani Olmo or Luis Diaz. Xavi wants Zubimendi or Kimmich and Laporta thinks about Guido… You see that in the middle of the season, Deco even offered Lopy, from Almeria. So, it is in that interval between ‘The Sushi Pact’ and the Almeria preview, when Xavi raises his voice and starts a disagreement.”

Certainly it would make much more sense of the sudden change in Laporta’s perpsective in a matter of weeks. He is yet to give any public explanation of the decision, while Xavi has pushed that question onto the hierarchy. It seems unlikely that Laporta or Deco would admit that a falling out over squad planning would have ended Xavi’s time in charge, but while they remain silent, the matter will be susceptible to speculation.