After announcing at the end of January that he would leave his post at the end of the season, FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez will finally remain on the bench of the Catalan club, Barça announced to AFP on Wednesday April 24.
As the Spanish media affirmed in recent hours, the Catalan technician, who had extended until 2025 last fall, agreed to honor his contract, at the end of a day of meetings with the president of the club, Joan Laporta, and his sports director, Deco.
Much criticized during the season, Xavi announced his departure just after an elimination in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey by Bilbao, then a defeat in the final of the Super Cup against his Madrid rival (4-1), in mid-January . The former midfielder notably felt that “his dream” of coaching his training club had become a “cruel and unpleasant” experience.
In the days following this announcement, President Laporta expressed his wish to see the emblematic former captain of the Blaugranas change his mind, while Barça still remains in the red financially, appearing incapable of affording a new coach. of international caliber.
La Liga winner last season
And the results of recent weeks have improved, allowing Barça to reach second place in La Liga, behind Real Madrid, six days before the end of the championship. The elimination in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain and the defeat in the clasico this weekend against the Madrid rival at the last second (3-2) did not prevent the Barcelona leaders from wish him to remain at the head of the team.
Xavi arrived on the Catalan bench in what was surely the worst period in Barça’s recent history. Last year, he allowed the team to win its first La Liga title since 2019 and will therefore be able to continue “its reconstruction”, thanks in particular to the emergence of the nuggets from the training center launched by Xavi: Lamine Yamal, 16 years old , Pau Cubarsi, 17 years old, and Fermin Lopez, 20 years old.