Xavi’s entourage found rumours of Barcelona being linked to Serie A manager ‘disrespectful’ – report

The recent 4-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup brought a lot of negative attention around FC Barcelona.

The players’ form and roles were questioned while the continuity of manager Xavi Hernandez was also doubted, and there was already chatter about potential replacements.

One such name suggested as a possible option to succeed Xavi at Barça was former teammate and current Bologna manager Thiago Motta.

Xavi’s entourage found the rumours ‘disrespectful’

Motta has been in charge of Bologna since September 2022 and his team have been performing fairly well this season. However, his stints with Genoa and Spezia were not much to write home about in the past.

Despite that, his name was mentioned as a possible successor for Xavi at Barcelona, and Toni Juanmarti of SPORT reports that those speculations upset the manager’s entourage, who found them disrespectful.

Bologna’s Thiago Motta was touted as a possible replacement for Xavi. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Xavi has always had the backing of Barcelona president Joan Laporta as well as sporting director Deco, both of whom have publicly stated their faith in the 43-year-old manager.

And, even though there were murmurs of doubts creeping in with some of the other board members, any decision on the manager’s future will only be made at the end of the current season.

Along with Motta, names of Barcelona Athletic boss Rafa Marquez and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta have also been mentioned as possible candidates to succeed Xavi.

But, for now, Xavi continues to enjoy the faith and the backing of the club and hopes to turn things around in the weeks to come.