Frenkie de Jong, in response to Xavi Hernandez’s impending departure, has emphasized that the responsibility for Barcelona’s recent poor performances lies squarely on the shoulders of the players.
The announcement followed a significant setback—a 5-3 defeat to Villarreal on Saturday night—which further exacerbated Barcelona’s challenging La Liga campaign,
leaving them trailing ten points behind their arch-rivals, Real Madrid.
Xavi enjoyed a stellar first 18 months at the helm of the Catalan club, guiding them to their first La Liga title in four years during a fantastic 2022/23 season.
However, Barca’s results and performances have drastically declined during the current campaign, being dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Club before Saturday’s loss Villarreal.
They were also embarrassed by Los Blancos in the Supercopa de Espana final earlier in January.
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However, speaking to DAZN after the defeat, Barca midfielder De Jong was keen to deflect blame for the recent dire performances away from Xavi, insisting the players are ultimately culpable.
He said:
“It’s our fault, players’ fault – if it doesn’t work out it’s our fault.
“This can’t happen to a top team. If you come back and are 3-2 up, you can’t leave that much space on a counter attack.
“We have to do much better. We have complete confidence in Xavi and the staff, they’re doing a good job. This can’t happen and it’s our fault.”
Barca still have the chance to end the season with some silverware.
The first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Napoli kicks off in little under a month, but off the pitch club president Joan Laporta will be scouring options to replace Xavi at the end of the season.
