Spanish journalist claims to know the REAL reason why Xavi is staying at Barcelona… but the manager denies the rumor as FALSE and ‘invented to harm me’
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Xavi has responded to a claim from a Spanish journalist that he knows the real reason why the coach turned around and decided to stay at Barcelona beyond this summer.
It emerged on Wednesday evening that Xavi had decided to make a u-turn to stay at Barcelona after meeting with club bosses.
He announced in January that he would leave at the end of the season, but must now honor his contract which expires in 2025.
Fans will likely be delighted that the club legend is now staying, but it has been claimed that the Barcelona board are prepared to let him go, only when financial problems hamper his planned departure.
Spanish journalist Jordi Baste told Catalan radio RAC1 that Barcelona bosses had agreed to terminate Xavi’s contract this summer, but the 44-year-old wanted to receive his full salary for the final year of his term. CONTRACT.
Xavi (right) has made a U-turn and opted to stay at Barcelona beyond this summer
A Spanish journalist has claimed that club president Joan Laporta (left) had no choice but to keep Xavi because the coach wanted to receive his full salary for the final year of his contract.
But Xavi strongly denied the claim as he attacked the report. “The rumors that I stayed because I wanted to collect the money from my last year of contract are false… and invented to harm me,” he said at a press conference today.
“The president knows that if I had left a club, I would not have asked for a single euro from Barcelona for my last year of contract.”
Due to the club’s financial situation, club president Joan Laporta had no choice but to keep Xavi for another year as they could not afford to pay his salary and bring in a new manager .
Barcelona’s financial crisis has been well documented in recent seasons, with La Liga having to intervene on several occasions.
They reduced the club’s salary cap by more than £320m in September, then reduced it to £175m in February.
The club has been operating under restrictions for some time following a number of huge transfer deals and financial mismanagement at the Camp Nou.
They also had to pull several financial levers during recent transfer windows to get
Xavi denied the Spanish journalist’s information and said it was a “rumor intended to harm me.”
Xavi has been in charge of Barcelona since November 2021 and won La Liga in his first full season in charge last season.
However, Barcelona’s title defense got off to a poor start and after a 5-3 defeat to Villarreal in January, Xavi said he would step down in the summer.
The shock announcement sparked an upturn in form that saw the team go on a 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions, and several Barcelona bosses revealed they wanted Xavi to change his mind and stay.
They have now gotten their wish, but news of Xavi’s turnaround follows two defeats against PSG and Real Madrid which seemingly ended Barcelona’s chances of a title this season.
