Tata Martino echoes Xavi’s thoughts about unforgiving pressure at Barcelona: “I agree with everything”

Xavi’s decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the season did not come out of the blue. The manager was under pressure in recent weeks for the team’s poor run of results, albeit it was far from his fault alone.

The team’s defeat to Villarreal was the final nail in the coffin, and it now appears that Xavi’s mind cannot be changed. As revealed by the Spanish legend himself, the pressure on him in the post was unforgiving, and beyond a point, intolerable.

Thoughts echoed

Speaking to the media earlier this week, former Barcelona manager Tata Martino admitted that he saw eye-to-eye with Xavi over the fact that the pressure on Barcelona’s manager was unlike that at any other post in the world.

“In reality, I don’t have such an important past in Barcelona that I would consider my opinion to have the same value. I would stay with those who gave them, who have a whole life in Barcelona,” he began, and rightfully so for he spent just one year at the club.

“They know him as a footballer, as a coach, even as an assistant coach. It is clear that I agree with everything that has been said this week, but that those who said it this week have more authority,” he added to Xavi’s statements.

What next?

Looking forward, Joan Laporta & co. are maintaining tabs on the situations of numerous managers across the globe, both experienced names and younger ones with a past at the club.

Jurgen Klopp, Roberto De Zerbi, and Frank Rijkaard are some of the names that have been linked with the Catalan capital, but the option of Sergio Conceiçao has gained weight in recent days.

The Porto manager is said to possess a skillset ideal to replace Xavi on the bench, both in terms of developing young talents and working with financial constraints. Moreover, he is out of contract with Porto in June and will not renew.