First list of five potential Xavi replacements shortlisted by Barcelona revealed – report

Less than two hours after conceding the fifth goal yesternight night from Jose Luis Morales in the 112th minutes of the game, Xavi announced his exit from Barcelona at the end of the season after nearly three years in charge.

“We have reached a point of no return. It’s time for change. As a Culé, I think that it’s time to leave. I spoke with the board and the club today. I will leave on the 30th of June,” he said.

“I made my decision to leave at the end of the season a few days ago, but now I have decided to announce it.”

Since then, Barcelona fans and players have been left in shock as Xavi kept this secret for nearly a month. A lot of news has come out about what steps the board is prepared to take as they build on Xavi’s project.

And if reports from Fernando Polo is to be believed, the first list of candidates to replace Xavi from the club are: Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta, Hansi Flick, Imanol Algucil, Thiago Motta.

Assessing the options

Jurgen Klopp has just announced his resignation from Liverpool claiming that his energy has ran out, and that he needs at least a sabbatical from football before potentially making a return. So that operation will be quite difficult.

Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta is leading a long-term project at Arsenal and is, for the second year running, in a Premier League title race. Convincing him will be horribly hard, but not entirely impossible.

Hansi Flick was recently fired from the German national team, and is out of a job. After leading Bayern Munich to a sextuple charge with Robert Lewandowski leading it, he is definitely one of the most likely to take up this job.

Imanol Algucil has done wonderful things at Real Sociedad since 2018, and is currently managing them in the Champions League, too. With his contract running out in 2025, it will not be unlikely should he choose to jump ships at the end of the season.

Finally, as far as Thiago Motta is concerned, he has recently ruled out a switch, saying that he is focused on Bologna. He has been there since 2022, and could probably be convinced. However, Barcelona must take his inexperience into account.