Joan Laporta the Barcelona president has broken his silence on the surprise sacking of Xavi Hernández.
The former Barcelona legend had initially announced his intention to step down at the end of the season in January, only to reverse his decision in April.
However, just three weeks later, Laporta made the unexpected decision to dismiss him, citing concerns about Xavi’s faith in the squad.
Laporta said:
“If Xavi can change his mind, so can we.”
“Everything was a bit forced when we decided to keep him on.
Xavi is a club legend and his enthusiasm led us to the decision to ratify his position.
“At the time of his U-turn, I asked him: ‘Do you believe in the team?’ He told me ‘Yes.’ He said he had faith in this team.
“However, there were then comments in which he changed his discourse after conversations with [sporting director] Deco with respect to necessary changes to the squad.
“That forced me to reconsider the situation and I felt the squad needed a new impetus to be more competitive and get the best out of what we have.
“I have had to make these tough decisions with Barça legends. My heart told me he should stay on, but not my head.
“I hope [our] relationship can continue. I have been through it with [Ronald] Koeman, [Lionel] Messi, [Gerard] Piqué, [Sergio] Busquets, [Jordi] Alba and now Xavi. All decisions are made for the good of Barça — the club comes first.”
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Laporta said Flick feels Barça, who finished second in LaLiga and exited the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage in 2023-24, can be successful with the current team.
“Flick feels capable of competing with this squad, that was decisive.”
Laporta said one of Flick’s tasks will be to improve the players’ fitness, noting that it was an area where they struggled under Xavi.
“Flick’s task is to win and he’s accepted the challenge.”
“The players must be well-prepared physically. The youngsters, the substitutes, players like [Robert] Lewandowski … everyone has to be in good shape physically.
“The physical preparation is essential because, with that, and having the ball, we can win everything.
This season we saw the team dip after the 60th minute physically. We didn’t finish games as we wanted — in the two Clásicos, for example.
“I am not saying the team was not well prepared, but there are always things to improve. We need more.”
Xavi took over as Barcelona’s head coach in November 2021, and his tenure has been marked by a resurgence in the team’s domestic performance and a return to winning major trophies.
