Xavi Hernandez had trump card that led to his continuity at Barcelona – report

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez had already announced his exit from the club in the summer, and it looked as if the club were happy to consummate that departure – until a meeting between Xavi and President Joan Laporta.

It has been reported that Xavi explained that he felt he had the energy and strength to continue in the role, while Sporting Director Deco and Laporta had promised to do what they could to improve the squad in the summer transfer market.

These meetings came after Laporta had told the board that Xavi would be leaving earlier on Wednesday afternoon. Now, Jordi Baste has reported on RAC1, as carried by Diario AS, that Xavi told Laporta that he and his staff would be expecting the final year of their contracts to be paid off if he was dismissed. Xavi signed a one-year contract extension last year until 2025, and the combined salary of the technical staff was reportedy in excess of €10m.

President Laporta and Xavi will hold a joint press conference at 13:00. @Radioestadio

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 25, 2024

A not insignificant amount for Barcelona, who are hard-up and over their salary limit. With a lack of a convincing alternative, and a large cost to consider, Laporta took the decision to continue with Xavi, to the disbelief of those in the board.

Sources close to Xavi have vehemently denied that the decision to stay was at all related to the money they might earn in the final year of their deal, as reported by Sport. Xavi had said that ‘he would never be a problem’ for Barcelona, which many took to believe he would forego any money that he was due if Laporta wanted to dismiss him.

Certainly if Xavi did leverage the cost of sacking him, it’s a strong hand to play to give himself another shot. It was said when Laporta sacked Koeman that one of the reasons he lasted until November rather than October of 2021. Part of the reason Barcelona are so short on alternatives for the position is their financial crisis, and if RAC1’s reporting is accurate, then Laporta likely felt he had no alternative.

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