Xavi Hernández announced that he will not continue as coach at Barcelona next season. After the 5-3 defeat to Villarreal on Saturday (27), the team’s seventh in 2023/24, the 44-year-old Spaniard revealed that he made the decision not to fulfill his contract until the end. The current contract runs until mid-2025.
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“On June 30th, I will no longer continue as Barça coach. I believe that the situation deserves a change of direction, of dynamics (…). Today (27) I experienced one of the toughest matches of my career”, he declared.
It is worth remembering that Xavi has been Barça’s coach since November 2021, just over two years ago, and had renewed his contract in September last year until the end of the 2024/25 season.
However, he finds himself under enormous pressure given recent results, with the eliminations in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey and the distance to Real Madrid and Girona in the fight for the Spanish title.
Even before Saturday’s announcement, the Spanish press reported that Italian-Brazilian Thiago Motta, coach of Bologna, would be targeted by Barcelona’s board.
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“Thinking about the players, they will free themselves, we played with a lot of tension and we thought as a culé (Barça fan) and a man, the best thing for the club is to leave. I will do my best in these remaining months, we can still have a good season. This is the message I would like to convey, with the peace of mind of making this decision with common sense, thinking more about the club than about myself”.
As a result, since the tough defeat to Real Madrid in the Super Cup final, Xavi’s stay has been questioned by the Spanish press. The coach stated that he had made the decision a few days ago and communicated it to president Joan Laporta.
“In a way, I freed myself. I don’t want to be an obstacle. I will always be with the club. I want a solution, and I think the best thing to do now is to leave on June 30th”, he reiterated.
“That’s how we agreed with the president, who is sensational, it will evolve, everyone is working hard in sports management”, Xavi stated.
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