Xavi to step down as Barcelona coach at end of season

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season following Saturday's 5-3 defeat to Villarreal at the Olympic Stadium.

Pressure had been mounting on Xavi throughout January after a string of disappointing results, including a 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final and a 4-2 loss to Athletic Club on Wednesday. in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

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Xavi, who recently signed a new contract until 2025, says he made the decision before the Villarreal game but now is the right time to make it official.

“I would like to announce that I will not remain coach of Barça beyond the end of this season,” Xavi confirmed during a press conference.

“I had decided to leave a few days ago, but I think now is the right time to announce it to help reduce the tension that exists around the club. A change of dynamic is necessary.

“So as a Barca fan, thinking about the best interests of the club and the players, I think it's the right decision. No one is bigger than the club and I'm a supporter first and foremost. this club.”

The defeat against Villarreal left Barca 10 points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid after their elimination from the Supercopa and Copa del Rey this month.

Saturday's defeat was the first time Barca had conceded five goals in a La Liga match at home since January 1963, when they were beaten 5-1 by Real Madrid. It's also the first time since 1951 that they have allowed four or more goals in consecutive games.

They remain in the Champions League, with Napoli set to play two matches in the last 16 next month, and Xavi is still hoping to go out on a high.

“I will give even more in the remaining months,” he added. “I still think we can turn things around and have a good season. I think we can fight for La Liga, even being 10 points behind.

“I think this announcement can free the players and help reduce tension around the club. They don't deserve any of this, it's a big group. In a way, it freed me too.

“I don't want to be a problem for the club, I want to be a solution. I was a solution two years ago when I was appointed, but now, thinking with my heart and thinking about the club, it I'd better go in the summer.”

Xavi insists his decision is 'irreversible' regardless of Barca's success by the end of the campaign.

“The feeling of being Barça coach can be unpleasant,” he continued. “It’s cruel, there is a lack of respect towards you, your work is not valued. (…) It’s terrible for your mental health and your morale.

“I'm a positive guy, but you get to the point where you think it doesn't make sense to continue. That's what it is.”

He added that he had not yet communicated the decision to his players as they were “devastated” in the dressing room after the Villarreal game, but that he would speak with them in training on Sunday.

Xavi, 44, took over from Ronald Koeman in 2021 and took Barca from ninth in La Liga to second and qualification for the Champions League.

Last season, his first full campaign in charge of the club, he led Blaugrana to their first La Liga title since 2019 and also won the Spanish Super Cup.

However, the club failed to advance out of the Champions League group stage for the second consecutive season. They managed to reach the last 16 of Europe's elite competition this season, but results elsewhere have doomed the manager.

Defeats to Madrid and Girona before Christmas saw them fall off the pace of La Liga, and January's performances against Madrid, Athletic and Villarreal further increased the doubts.

Xavi, who coached Qatari side Al Sadd before returning to Barca, where he spent more than 20 years as a player, has hinted he will not seek an immediate return to management following his departure .

“I don’t know what the future holds for me because this job allows me to spend less time with my family,” he said. “They are suffering and I can't be so selfish throughout my career. I'm going to spend time at home and rest, I need to be with my children more.”