FC Barcelona will fire Xavi Hernandez if the club loses against Napoli next week.
FC Barcelona will fire outgoing head coach Xavi Hernandez if his team loses to Napoli in the Champions League according to AS correspondent Javi Miguel, who cited anonymous sources in a report for El Espanol.
Xavi’s time in the hotseat is already running out after he revealed he will step down on June 30.
The bombshell announcement was made in January, after Barca lost 5-3 to Villarreal at the Montjuic Stadium in a defeat which it was thought had ended hopes of retaining the La Liga title.
Furthermore, his men had also been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by eventual finalists Athletic Club a few days before.
With Xavi’s decision hanging over them, Barca’s players eventually improved with a string of wins over the past few weeks.
When Real Madrid drew 2-2 against Valencia on Saturday, Barca was let back into the title race and could cut Los Blancos’ lead to six points.
Come full time on Sunday evening, however, Xavi was left to rue a missed golden opportunity, plus the losses of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong to injury, with the Blaugrana again failing to beat Athletic Club in San Mames this time limping to a 0-0 draw.
With the deficit at the La Liga summit eight point, it might be safe to assume that the Spanish top flight crown has again slipped out of reach making the Champions League Barca’s only chance of silverware this term.
Italian Serie A holders Napoli stand in Barca’s way of progressing to the quarter-finals, and according to AS correspondent Javi Miguel, who is close to Xavi’s entourage, a defeat in the last 16 second leg where the score begins 1-1 on aggregate will have consequences.
“With Xavi Hernandez already packing his bags from July 1 [onwards], his head would be placed on the altar of sacrifice in search of his definitive immolation,” Miguel dramatically writes on Tuesday morning, in a piece about the potential fall out of a KO on the continent.
“It is not lost on anyone that an elimination in the round of 16 would leave the coach with no arguments to continue and with very few defenders within the club, perhaps not even [president] Joan Laporta,” he adds.
If Laporta has to dismiss Xavi before his planned exit date, it is suggested that reserve team manager Marquez might replace his former teammate on an interim basis before a permanent successor is found.
