A little over a month ago, Barcelona were holding a press conference announcing that Xavi Hernandez would stay on as manager ahead of next season.
Fast forward only a few weeks, and the club has not held a press conference rather sent out a statement confirming the sacking of Xavi Hernandez.
▶ Comunicat del FC Barcelona https://t.co/wwUVnbJqqz
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) May 24, 2024
"FC Barcelona wishes to thank Xavi for his work as coach, as well as for his inimitable carerr as a player and as team captain, and wishes him every future success in the world.
"Xavi Hernandez will be coaching the team for the last time in Sunday's game away to Sevilla," the statement read.
The decision came after a meeting at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper where Joan Laporta was accompanied by various members of his board.
The decision to sack Xavi came following a press conference where Xavi was blunt in assessing the club's financial situation when it came to planning transfers ahead of next season. In essence, he tried to temper expectations and said it wasn't like it used to be where a manager could ask for a player and the club would bring him.
This apparently upset Laporta who then distanced himself from Xavi and, up until this point, hadn't made a public comment regarding the future of his manager.
Adding further fuel to the fire that Xavi was going to be sacked was of a reported meeting involivng former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick and Deco as well as Bojan Krkic.
Still, Xavi had not been made aware he was going to be fired until today. In fact, he was already planning for next season.
Xavi's tenure in charge of Barcelona ends with him having delivered the Spanish Super Cup and the LaLiga title last season. Beyond the titles, his legacy will have been of handing a number of La Masia players their first team debut as well as taking on a challenge of coaching Barcelona when they were arguably at their lowest and bringing back that competitive edge that seemed to be missing.
A change was necessary given the performances this season compared to last. However, the way this has gone about, no one will argue that it could have been done in a much better fashion.