Laporta has contacted former Barcelona manager to replace Xavi in the summer – report

With Xavi Hernandez announcing his decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the season, the hunt for a new manager has taken centre stage at the Catalan club.

A number of names like Jurgen Klopp, Imanol Alguacil, Roberto De Zerbi, and Thiago Motta have been mentioned as possible candidates to take over from the former midfielder.

And, it appears that Barcelona president Joan Laporta might be considering the possibility of bringing back one of the club’s former managers as a replacement.

Laporta has contacted Frank Rijkaard

Indeed, as per Radio MARCA, Laporta has contacted former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard to discuss the possibility of him taking over from Xavi at the end of the season.

Rijkaard spent five seasons as the manager of Barça between 2003 and 2008, during Laporta’s first term as club president.

During that time, the Dutchman led the team to two La Liga titles and one UEFA Champions League trophy.

Rijkaard was hired by Laporta in 2003. (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)

After leaving Barcelona in 2008, Rijkaard had stints with Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabian national team, but he has been out of the management scene since 2013.

However, if the aforementioned report is to be believed, Laporta has reached out to the 61-year-old to discuss a potential return.

In fact, the report states that the Barcelona president has even proposed the possibility of Rijkaard bringing in fellow Dutch legend Marco van Basten as his assistant.

The Dutch tactician is understood to have not completely closed the doors on an opportunity to come back to Barcelona.

Despite that, though, the likelihood of that happening appear extremely slim, considering that he has not managed any team in a decade.