The last month of 2023 and the first of 2024 was turbulent in Barcelona. The Catalans slowed down in the championship race, conceding too many goals, and the culmination happened at the very end of January. In just three days, Barça was eliminated in Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao after conceding four goals, and on January 27, Villarreal humiliated them 5-3 at Montjuic. That same evening, Xavi, whose future on the bench was constantly discussed in the media, broke down and announced – “I’m leaving Barcelona at the end of the season”.The news echoed throughout Europe and at first seemed like a not-so-bad thing for the Catalans. A little more than two months later, the perspective of the club’s leaders on Xavi’s decision took on a completely new dimension. Simply put, Barca stabilized, somewhat returned to the championship race (although Real Madrid are still far away with an eight-point advantage), and earned a place among the eight best teams of the Champions League. And that’s why in the offices of the club officials, a plan is being hatched on how to convince Xavi to change his mind, to continue together with the club where he gained the status of a legend as a player.Joan Laporta and Rafa Yuste are Xavi’s great supporters. They love him because by studying what is on the market they are not clear that things can improve. Xavi is from the house and has adapted to economic needs and has already won a league title. They will try to convince him… pic.twitter.com/rXVmRLoGLi— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) April 2, 2024 That Xavi will be a tough nut to crack is shown by the recent statements of president Joan Laporta.”I told Xavi that all the coaches want to come to Barcelona, but that we will not think about others as long as he is here. I told him that we respect his decision, but also that we play better and that everything looks better”, said the first man of the Catalans and added: “I would like him to stay at the club and I told him that a long time ago, when he was talking about pressure. I told him that there is always pressure here. I asked him what are the chances of him changing his mind, but he continued to say that he would leave at the end of the season, that we had agreed.”However, in one of the biggest clubs in Europe, they do not give up so easily. Catalan Mundo Deportivo, referring to the words of Barcelona vice-president Rafa Juste, explains that Barcelona wants to keep Xavi through a long-term project in which he would be the commander-in-chief.”We are not talking about staying for one or two more seasons,” explained Juste, although the mandate of the current Barcelona management officially expires on June 30, 2026.##NAJAVA_MECA_8002448##Barcelona’s position is clear. They will not be looking for Xavi’s successors until the end of the season. Laporta will wait for him until the last moment because the Spanish expert himself showed the courage to throw some new, young faces in the mix and the ability to turn them into standard first-team players, even national team players, already in their teenage days. No one doubts anymore that the 16-year-old child prodigy Lamine Yamal will be a pillar of Barcelona and Spain in the next ten, 15 years, that Pau Cubarsi is the sweeper for the future, and Fermin Lopez and Hector Fort are slowly getting better.After a three-year break, Xavi led Barcelona to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, although the club spent very limited last summer, and the Spanish expert did not have many of his wishes in terms of new players fulfilled.Officially, Xavi’s current contract runs until June 30, 2025, with an option to extend it for another year. The plan is to bring several quality reinforcements to Xavi that would improve the existing playing staff, and to have Erling Haaland arrive at Camp Nou in 2025 as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who will then be a proper veteran at the age of 38. Perhaps the promise that in less than a year and a half he will have one of the best goal-scorers in the world in his roster, could have a decisive influence on Xavi changing his decision.
