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Xavi Hernandez has been busy telling Barcelona exactly what they want to hear with his latest comments about his former club.
The club legend has reiterated that it is his dream to return to the Camp Nou in the future and manage the team, according to Sport’s Didac Peyret.
“The biggest hope I have now is to be Barca coach and get Barca back to winning ways. Not me but these players and Barca triumphing. And as a consequence, our technical staff, who are preparing for it a lot and it makes us really excited.”
“I’m a club man. I would like to return at the right moment to start a project from zero. I’ve said it a lot of times but I want to take footballing decisions at Barcelona.
“It’s clear that after the elections the stage would be set, of course. I’m not ruling anything out. They came for me in January, we were speaking. I told them the circumstances and timing weren’t right.”
Xavi moved to Qatari side Al-Sadd from Barcelona in 2015 after a glorious career with the club, winning 25 titles. The 40-year-old was named Al-Sadd’s manager after hanging up his boots in 2019, signing a two-year contract extension with the club.
The former midfielder’s mention of elections relates to the club’s presidential elections which are due to be held in the summer of 2021. Current president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who is unpopular with supporters, has been in the job since 2014 but is not seeking re-election.
Xavi Turned Down Barcelona in January
Barcelona has already changed manager this season. Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January and replaced by Quique Setien, although the former Real Betis coach was not their first choice.
The Catalan giants actually approached Xavi but saw their offer rejected by the former midfield maestro. He was happy to explain why he said no to to their offer.
“It’s true that I received an offer from Barcelona. Éric Abidal and Óscar Grau made the offer, but I didn’t accept it because I felt it was too soon for me to coach Barcelona. That doesn’t mean it’s not still my dream to coach Barcelona one day.”
Xavi is in his first managerial role since moving into the dugout. He’s already picked up silverware in his brief stint with Al-Sadd, winning the 2019 Qatari Super Cup and the 2020 Qatar Cup with his club.
Setien Under Pressure at Barcelona
Meanwhile, Setien is already under a bit of pressure at Barcelona. His team are engaged in a tight race for the title with Real Madrid but will be knocked off top spot if Los Blancos beat Espanyol on Sunday.
The coach saw his team drop points again on Saturday in a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo. Some of his players confronted him after the match in a tense encounter in the dressing room.
Jordi Blanco at ESPN has reported that Barcelona has not ruled out replacing Setien with Barcelona B coach Francisco Javier García Pimienta in time for the resumption of their Champions League campaign in August.
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