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8 months ago
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Barcelona are currently immersed in the difficult task of finding a replacement for Xavi Hernandez next season.
The Spaniard has recently expressed his desire to leave the club at the end of the season, after feeling undervalued by the board.
While Barça are working ’round the clock to find a replacement, some members of the board are still hopeful that Xavi will make a U-turn on his decision.
Laporta hoping Xavi to stay
One of those Barça board members is club president Joan Laporta. According to Luis Carrasco (h/t FCB World), Laporta is one of the people who wants Xavi to stay at the club beyond the summer.
The Barcelona president rates Xavi quite highly and trusts the Spaniard to continue leading the project, which, in a way, was kickstarted by him two years ago.
Laporta realises finding a new manager could bring Barcelona back to square one. There is also a possibility that the new coach might struggle to adapt to Barça’s culture.
Laporta wants Xavi to stay at Barcelona (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)
Xavi, in contrast, was one of many players who had built the culture at Barcelona, both as a player and as a coach.
Can UCL tempt Xavi to stay?
Carrasco further explains that Laporta is still hopeful that if Barcelona end up winning La Liga or the Champions League this season, it could tempt Xavi to change his mind and stay at Camp Nou.
Barcelona, however, are significantly trailing behind both Girona and Real Madrid in the race for the league title.
The Champions League, therefore, remains the only realistic target for Barcelona. The Catalans will notably kickstart their knockout campaign later this month when they take on Napoli.
This will be Barça’s first UCL knockout stage game in quite some time, so the pressure will be immense, not just on the coach, but also on the players.
