Xavi has performed a U-turn and decided to stay at Barcelona past the end of the season – but who are the biggest winners and losers of his decision?
Despite insisting that he would be leaving at the end of the season, it has now been confirmed that the Blaugrana’s manager will remain until 2025
So, it’s confirmed: Se queda. Xavi announced defiantly in late January that he would be leaving Barcelona at the end of the campaign, and asserted that there would be no circumstances in which he might return. A Champions League win wouldn’t be enough, nor would a miraculous La Liga turnaround. His decision, he insisted, was made.
Except, it wasn’t. Barca, after months of trying, have convinced their manager who seemed so certain to depart to stick around. Quite why they have been so desperate to change the legendary midfielder’s mind isn’t wholly clear, though. Xavi hasn’t necessarily done poorly in Catalunya, but there is a sense that he has taken the club as far as he can.
The Blaugrana, really, need a fresh face in the dugout, but Barca have convinced him to stay all the same, with the coach set to see out the rest of his contract, which expires in 2025. It all sets up an interesting season ahead, as Barca face the reality of trying to compete with a surging Real Madrid with a largely similar set-up to the one that has struggled so much at times in 2023-24. Either way, it should make for interesting viewing.
