Xavi Hernandez’s future will be discussed in an upcoming meeting that should bring the Barça coach together with president Laporta and, presumably, with the sporting director, Deco, and perhaps with Alejandro Echevarría, a trusted person of the three aforementioned characters. That meeting should be held next week, specifically this coming Monday, without ruling out that Laporta, in a start, decides to summon the coach today after the match against Rayo at the same Montjuïc stadium.
Xavi’s press conference ahead of the match against Almeria lit the fuse of a very tense few days. The coach, ratified just over three weeks ago to fulfil his contract until 2025, hinted that the financial situation of the club – which still does not know if it will be able to return to LaLiga’s 1:1 wage fair play rule – could make it somewhat more complicated to compete against a Madrid side that is strong and can strengthen even more. Those phrases did not sit well with Laporta, who interpreted them as a betrayal of Xavi’s promise, on the night of his ratification, when he told him that with the current squad, even if there were no major reinforcements, great things could be done, according to club sources.
As a result of that anger, and encouraged by someone he trusted, Laporta began to seriously consider firing Xavi and, annoyed, he did not travel to Almeria. He also did not want to meet with the coach on Friday and summoned him to meet later.
At the same time, people with weight in the club point out internally that firing Xavi for giving his opinion can be difficult to explain. In that sense, they add that a talk between the coach and the president is vital to clarify everything, without ruling out any scenario.
In the last few hours, some doubts have been raised within the board about what should be done with Xavi after his media ratification and with the team with second place on track. It is obvious that the president is an executive and can decide anything, but then it has to be explained to the affected person, in this case a Barça legend, and to the fans. And another important factor: to pay what Xavi has committed to by contract and to pay the new coach in a delicate economic situation. For now, there is no official communication from the club. Let’s see which director or executive of the club speaks today, in the run-up to the Rayo Vallecano match or after the match, because I’m sure they will ask him about the decision to make with Xavi.
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