Journalist Ferran Martinez has slammed Barcelona via Catalunya Radio for their handling of the entire Xavi saga, saying that from the outside, it looks like the team is being operated without direction.
Rumours are rife that Xavi will not be the coach of Barcelona from the next season as long as there is no new turn in the story.
For what it is worth, it looks like the decision has finally been made, though, with Joan Laporta, you always need to be cautious. For Martinez, this soap opera does not put Barcelona in a good light.
“This emotional rollercoaster that Barça is experiencing is surreal,” said the reporter.
“The club must be fixed first and then the team. The image that is seen from the outside is of a club without direction and with no one at the helm,” he added.
A brief timeline of the event
The tipping point came during Xavi’s press conference this Wednesday before the match against Almeria.
The manager admitted that the club’s financial struggles made it hard to compete with Real Madrid and other top European teams. This admission greatly disappointed Laporta.
Doubts about his future at Barça have been simmering for a while and it all started in the first half of the season.
At that time, the team’s inconsistent performances and results raised questions about his project. In January, things escalated. Within ten days, Barça lost the Super Cup final to Madrid (1-4) and got knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic (2-4).
After a surreal 3-5 defeat to Villarreal, Xavi announced his decision to step down at the end of the season. He felt this was the best way to relieve the players of pressure and finish the season fighting for the League and Champions League.
Laporta accepted this decision, respecting Xavi as a club legend who always had Barça’s best interests at heart.
In the weeks that followed, the team’s performance improved slightly, and the difficulty in finding a high-calibre replacement made the board reconsider Xavi’s departure.
Xavi also began to see the team responding better and started regaining his desire to stay on as coach. Laporta, Xavi, Deco, Rafa Yuste, and others met at the president’s house and agreed to keep Xavi on as coach.
Interestingly enough, Laporta’s change of heart had been developing since the defeat at Girona two weeks ago.
As of now, Xavi is still the coach and led the team’s training this Friday morning. No one from the club has said anything about his future or a possible dismissal.
According to sources, the manager has no indication that the president wants to replace him and he plans to discuss the situation with them soon.
Nothing has changed for Xavi, and he continues planning for next season with Deco, who is currently in Portugal for personal reasons.
Barça Universal’s view
While nothing’s made official yet, Barcelona are indeed in a bad light. If there was ever a doubt regarding Xavi’s continuity, the board must have remained firm in its stance.
The constant back-and-forth is doing no good to everyone involved. For once, Xavi needs to be made aware of what the board is thinking right now.
As for Laporta, Deco and Co. firing Xavi would bring them back to square one, hunting for new managers and discussing their compensation. Furthermore, the problems do not stop for Barcelona there.
As explained before, Xavi’s sacking this season would cost Barcelona quite a lot and this is something the team cannot afford right now.
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