Xavi Hernandez will remain Barcelona coach until the end of his contract in 2025, after he had previously announced his departure this summer, according to what the Catalan club reported to Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.
As confirmed by the Spanish media in recent hours, the 44-year-old young coach, who extended his contract last fall until 2025, agreed to abide by his contract until its expiration, at the end of a long day of meetings with his president, Joan Laporta, and Portuguese sporting director Deco.
The Barcelona midfielder’s historic decision comes one week after the Blaugrana was eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals by Paris Saint-Germain (4-6 in total in the two matches), then a dramatic loss to traditional rival Real Madrid 2-3 in the Spanish League. The latter is at the top of the standings by 11 points.
Xavi said in January that he felt “liberated on a personal level” when he made his decision to leave his position at the end of the current season.
He added, “As of June 30, I will no longer continue as Barcelona coach…but rather as a Barcelona fan. I believe that the club needs a change in dynamic.”
The former Qatari Al-Sadd coach reiterated on more than one occasion that taking over as coach of the Catalonia team was his “dream,” but he admitted that the pressures resulting from sitting in the coaches’ chairs were enormous.
Barcelona, which had been suffering from financial hardship in recent seasons, appointed Xavi in November 2021, with the latter leading it to win the La Liga title last season.
But the giant team suffered both this season after losing dramatically to its traditional rival Real Madrid 1-4 in the local Super Cup final, and then being eliminated by Athletic Bilbao from the cup competition.