XAVI STAYS! Xavi will continue to coach Barcelona until the end of his contract

• Back in January, Xavi (44 years old) announced that he would no longer be the manager of Barcelona after the current season.
• Club President Joan Laporta (61 years old) has convinced the Spanish coach to continue his work in Barcelona.

At the end of January, Xavi announced during a press conference after Barcelona’s surprising 5-3 loss against Villareal that he would end his managerial duties at the end of the season, regardless of the fact that his contract was valid until the summer of 2025.

According to BBC, the reason behind this decision has to do with the mental state that Xavi was in. He told the press he needs to start prioritizing himself, as he feels underappreciated at the club by the board and fans and these things have started to really affect his mental health.

He also insisted that it’s for the good of the club, players, and fans that this change of dynamic will happen, as he feels that every time Barcelona plays, there is a constant tension and pressure that forbids them to play at their maximum capacity.

Last but not least, he told the press that neither a better salary nor even winning the Champions League would make him change his mind about leaving in the summer.

Xavi - why the sudden change of heart?

It seems that the crucial part of the radical change in Xavi’s decision was indeed the Barcelona President, Joan Laporta, alongside Vice-President Rafa Yuste. They invited the manager to Laporta’s house in order to discuss all the details and they reached the agreement that Xavi would stay at least until his original contract expired.

After the disastrous event of the Champions League quarter-finals, when Barcelona blew a 2-goal advantage against PSG, who won 4-6 on aggregate and moved on to the semifinals, fans never expected this good news, which came only a week later.

Even though Xavi’s mind changed, his declarations that the former announcement helped him be more relaxed were true, as Barcelona went on a 13-game unbeaten streak after that.

Now, even though it is very unlikely that they will catch up to their rivals, Real Madrid, and win LaLiga, therefore having a trophyless season, the team seems more focused than at the beginning of the season.

• POLL: Should Xavi extend his contract next year? Yes/No

Xavi’s history with Barca

Xavi was born and raised in the city of Barcelona and is one of the finest products of the La Masia youth academy. He debuted for the first team at age 18 and played most of his career at Barcelona, 17 years to be exact, making over 500 appearances.

He won 25 titles with his boyhood club, including 8 LaLiga trophies and 4 Champions League trophies. He was also club captain for about 3 years after Carles Puyol (46 years old) retired in 2012.

The last 4 years of his career were spent at Qatari side Al Sadd, where he also began his managerial journey right after he officially retired from football, in 2019.

After 2 years, he returned to Spain, and during his second season at Barcelona, he led them to win the LaLiga and Supercopa de Espana. Now, he has another season left to prove to the fans that he is the right man for the job and bring more trophies to Camp Nou.

In addition, he continued the tradition of promoting young talents to the first team, just as he once was. Youngsters from La Masia like Alejandro Balde (20 years old), Pau Cubarsi (17 years old), Fermin Lopez (20 years old), Hector Fort (17 years old), Lamine Yamal (16 years old), and Gavi (19 years old) are regular bench and starting players, even in big games like the El Clasico or Champions League matches.