Xavi announced his resignation, and the whole team was stunned! The locker room was silent, and the management was stunned
In the early morning of January 28, another bombshell detonated Barcelona and La Liga.
In the post-match press conference of Barcelona's 5-3 defeat to Villarreal, coach Xavi announced that he will no longer be the Barcelona manager at the end of the season. Xavi, who was in controversy and predicament, chose to take the initiative to leave and bid farewell to Barcelona one year ahead of schedule.
Before and after Xavi announced his resignation (officially leaving on June 30), what happened to Barça's management and dressing room, and how did the players react?
After the 5-3 defeat to Villarreal, the Barça management held an emergency meeting. Club president Joan Laporta, vice-president in charge of sporting Hust, sporting director Deco, Laporta's close adviser Masip, members of the sports committee Soler and Echeverria (who have no official role but play a key communication role in Laporta's team) discussed the defeat in the conference room at home.
The content of the club's management discussion was not the question of Xavi's stay, but some controversial decisions from the referee for the 3-5 defeat.
At the moment when the Spanish Super Cup final lost to Real Madrid and the Copa del Rey was eliminated by Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona lost the key battle of La Liga, and the club management held a meeting, and the scene was a little tense and stalemate. From the management's point of view, the most important thing at the moment is the two legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Napoli, and the team should brace and forget about the defeat and the exit.
As for coach Xavi, the opinion of the club's management is quite unanimous: recognize Xavi and have full confidence in the coaching team.
After a meeting of the club's management, Laporta came to the dressing room. At this time, Xavi told Laporta about his decision to leave on June 30, which was not expected by the management!
Even more surprising than the management was the Barça dressing room.
Daily Sport reporter Toni Juanmarti revealed that the whole Barcelona team was disappointed and frustrated after learning of Xavi's decision. There was dead silence in the dressing room, and all the players were in a state of shock.
Who will succeed Xavi? B coach Rafa Marquez was the first to be ruled out - Barcelona want Marquez to continue to lead the B team and lay a good foundation. Jurgen Klopp is one of the rumored managers, but Barcelona can hardly afford high wages, and Uncle Scumbag also wants to take a year off, and Bologna's Thiago Motta has become the most popular candidate.