2024-01-28T05:11:02+00:00
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/ Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez announced that he will leave his position next June.
Xavi’s announcement came after the resounding defeat against its guest Villarreal 3-5 in the twenty-second round.
Xavi, who took charge in November 2021, led Barcelona to the Spanish Super Cup and the league title last season, building the team around a strong defence, but they have struggled defensively this season, and it was the first time the team had conceded five goals in a home league match since 1963, when they lost to Villarreal on Saturday.
Xavi, whose contract with the Catalan club expires in 2025, said in a press conference after the match: “On June 30, I will leave the club. It is a decision I made with President Joan Laporta and the technical staff.”
He added that he made the decision in the best interests of the club: “I thought about the club and above all about the players.”
“I have a feeling that I am doing the right thing, that I am acting with common sense. I think the club needs a change in dynamic, the dynamic is very negative,” he continued.
He explained that even if Barcelona won the Champions League this season, he would not change his mind and stay, and said that he still believes that his team is capable of winning titles this season.
“I am more optimistic than ever with this change in dynamic. We will continue to compete for the league title, it is very difficult but we will fight. I have not spoken to the players about this, I saw how frustrated they were today and I will speak to them tomorrow, this is one of the reasons for that,” he concluded.
Barcelona is in third place with 44 points, ten points behind leaders Real Madrid and eight points behind second-placed Girona.
The team suffered a crushing defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final earlier in January and were eliminated from the King’s Cup quarter-finals by Athletic Bilbao last Wednesday.