Barcelona will be very attentive to 36-year-old coach’s situation, out of contact after 2024 Euros

Barcelona have a huge task on their hands, hoping to replace Xavi as the head coach of the club at the end of the season. The Spaniard announced, after the 3-5 loss against Villarreal that the club needed a change of dynamic and that the job was very unthankful.

Since then, several names have started popping up as potential replacements, including the likes of Hansi Flick, Sergio Conceicao, Luis Enrique, Roberto de Zerbi, and Mikel Arteta among a bucketload of others.

Barcelona will also continue to keep tabs on Julian Nagelsmann, as per SPORT, who is currently managing the German National Team. He is out of a contract after the 2024 European Championship, and will likely not continue with Die Mannschaft after that.

Still only 36, Nagelsmann has been managing on the highest level since 2016 when he initially took charge of the Hoffenheim senior team. He was only 28 years old then, younger than a fair few of his players.

Since then, Nagelsmann has taken over roles at RB Leipzig — with whom he reached the Champions League semi-finals, and then Bayern Munich.

He was (harshly) sacked from his role with the Bavarians in March 2023, though, who decided to pursue Thomas Tuchel’s signature.

Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid are among names that have been linked with him since then, but he preferred to take over the Germany job for the Euros. And it seems he is interested in returning to a club job after that.

“I haven’t thought about it yet. Since my contract ends after the Euros, I would say: as it stands, no. I’ve said it since the beginning of my tenure – the Euros is currently the focus. Then we’ll see if I’m still the coach,” Nagelsmann said recently when asked about whether he will continue as the coach post-Euros.

Die Mannschaft have failed to perform at any major tournament since winning the World Cup in 2014. Even Flick failed at the job, and was the first coach ever to be sacked by the NT.

That said, Nagelsmann has established himself as one of the most exciting young coaches in European football, and his reputation or his credibility will not be decided by the upcoming European Championship.