May 18, 2024

Xavi says he still has faith in Laporta despite reports that he may be fired from Barça – La Liga

Amidst rumors that Barcelona has decided to fire him, Xavi Hernández maintains that “nothing has changed” and that he still has the “same enthusiasm and ambition”—just three weeks after celebrating his decision to make a U-turn and stay on as coach.

The Catalan, who resigned on January 27 but later changed his mind on April 24, claimed that the club had sent him a “calm” message and that no one had informed him he would not be returning for the following season.

Joan Laporta, the club president, stated that all it took for Xavi to continue was “three minutes” and for the two men to “look each other in the eye” when Barcelona declared in April that Xavi would play on. However, according to reports on Catalan radio, Laporta has changed his mind and will fire Xavi at the end of the current campaign.

On Monday night, the team left for Almería, but Deco, the sporting director, and the president did not accompany them. The tone of Xavi’s pre-match press conference, where he claimed that the club’s financial crisis made it difficult to compete, had irritated the latter. Xavi had asked for a meeting, but it was not held. The coach had no option; the president has not made a public statement. 

Speaking before the visit of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, Xavi described reports as “stories no one has told me”. He claimed that the trust and confidence that Laporta and Deco have in him remains “intact” and that the club have “transmitted calm”.

Yet at heart what he did was pass responsibility for any new U-turn on to the president, aware that while the noise may be external it comes from inside. “This is Barça, these things happen,” he said. “I can’t say any more. We have the same enthusiasm and ambition to take on this season and next. And that’s it: calmness. I know the surroundings are noisy but nothing changes.”

He also said that the last 48 hours of rumours and briefing against him behind the scenes had not made him rethink his position. “No, no, no, not at all: I have zero doubts that things can go well with me as coach. My enthusiasm remains, and with this [noise] even more so. These are things the press said. That has not been communicated to me. What has been communicated to me is: calm, Rayo tomorrow.”

Asked if he thought that the president or people close to him were pushing for a sacking, Xavi replied: “I don’t know and I am not interested, to be honest. What interests me is that I have the trust of the president and that is intact at the moment. The president, the sporting director, the vice-president transmit calm.”

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