Joan Laporta reveals the 2 reasons for sacking Xavi after it looked as though the Spaniard is set to continue at the club.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed the reasons behind the sacking of Xavi Hernandez, in the wake of the appointment of Hansi Flick.
He had a promising start to life at the club, where he replaced Ronald Koeman, another former player of the club who was shown the exit door after spending just over a year at the helm.
In his first full season, Xavi won Barcelona their first LaLiga title in four years, dethroning Atletico Madrid of the title, and finishing ten points ahead of second place Real Madrid.
Barcelona also set a record for most clean sheets in a single LaLiga season as their German goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen kept 26 clean sheets in 38 games in the competition.
Unfortunately, their dominance did not extend to Europe. Barcelona suffered group elimination in back-to-back seasons in the UEFA Champions League, only one of which Xavi was at the heart of. That year, Barça lost to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League elimination round.
This season, Real Madrid was just so good the Blaugrana can’t keep up while in Europe, they surrendered a first-leg away lead to lose out to PSG in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League, crashing out in the process.
Barcelona informed Xavi that they trust in him to continue to lead the team despite the underwhelming ending to their season. But surprisingly, it came to light that the club no longer believe in their former Academy product.
It was believed that the comment Xavi made on their financial situation did not go down well with the club’s hierarchy but club president Joan Laporta has now revealed the real reasons behind the decision.
Joan Laporta reveals the 2 reasons for sacking Xavi
1. Xavi did not believe in the squad
Joan Laporta is convinced Xavi did not trust in the current squad to restore the good old days.The former Al Sadd Manager wanted at least six first team members out of the club, and the list include Robert Lewandowski, Joao Felix, and Vitor Roque, players whom the club hierarchy sees as their best attackers.
The club made a lot of sacrifice to secure the moves of these players to the club, and they arrived as marquee signings. The manager not trusting in them sends a negative signal to the club, and any potential top target.
Joao Felix was reportedly not happy with the treatment by the now former Barcelona boss, while Vitor Roque was already looking for alternatives, as nothing good has come out of his dream move to the club.
2. He wanted to make too many changes
Xavi had a lot of demands from Barcelona ahead of the window, despite their financial situation. He knew his demands could not be met and that was his reason for stating the fans have to limit their expectations.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta struggled to ensure the arrival of important players despite the financial constraints, and these are the main players Xavi wants to replace.
Vitor Roque joined Barcelona in a €40 million move from Club Athletico Paranaense last summer before his arrival in Spain in January, but 19-year-old Brazilian is yet to display any of the promises that made the club sign him.
“You don’t believe in this squad and you want to make too many changes.” these are the words of Joan Laporta, directed to Xavi when asked why he sacked the FIFA World Cup winner with Spain.
Former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick has been appointed as the successor of Xavi Hernandez. The German will have the task of getting the best out of these players and return Barcelona into the company of the elites.
The club has not reached the UEFA Champions League semifinal since the loss in Anfield back in 2019, and these are amongst the stuffs that’ll be expected of Flick, as the club flicks the page from the old era.
