Xavi Hernandez set to remain Barcelona manager until 2025

Despite stating he was going to leave his post as the Barcelona manager at the end of this season, in the end Xavi Hernandez will fulfill his contract and remain at the helm until 2025.

The decision was reached on Wednesday after several meetings between Xavi and members of the Barcelona board. It appears the final decision was taken after a meeting at Joan Laporta's home.

Laporta will hold a press conference on Thursday to confirm the decision and explain the reasoning behind it.

It was a topsy-turvy day for those involved at the club with pessimistic reports about the possibility of Xavi staying began to surface. One of the reasons behind it was the reported conditions the club put on the table.

They recommended some changes in Xavi's coaching staff. Those changes involved the physical trainer and his assistant coach. Barcelona has struggled with injuries this season. More troubling are the recurring injuries to the same players.

While that request might not seem unreasonable, to Xavi, the second one might be considering his assistant coach is Oscar Hernandez, his brother. It's obvious the club believes, and want, someone with more experience to be his second in command.

The Barcelona board was also divided with some wanting Xavi to stay and others not so sure. Ultimately, the choice was Laporta's to make and the Barcelona president opted for continuity despite the lackluster results and overall regression by the team this season.

It will be interesting to see what conditions Xavi accepted, if any, to stay on as manager. One of the options Barcelona were shuffling is that of Dominic Torrent as Xavi's no. 2.

Then there is the question of the squad.

Another report stated Xavi had a handful of players as his priority with a holding midfielder at the top of his list.

The saga now appears to be over and it has reached the likeliest of conclusions with Xavi fulfilling the pending year on his contract.

With not that many top-level managers on the market, and Rafael Marquez still having his doubters, it seemed more likely that Xavi would end up staying. The only other candidate that was seriously talked about was Hansi Flick but he didn't reach a consensus either.

The pressure now is all going to be on Xavi and Laporta. For the former, it will be to improve on the results from this season, both on the pitch as well as in the league table. For Laporta, he's sticking by Xavi and will now face scrutiny given the expectations. It looks like he cast the deciding vote and will bear the blame should things not improve next season.