Pep Guardiola defends Xavi’s resignation from Barcelona: “It’s 1000 times tougher in Spain than England”

Coaching Barcelona is the hardest football job in the world.

Several managers at the club have said this exact line, and more often than not, word for word.

Not only are you expected to get consistent results that accompany trophies, but you must also maintain the exciting footballing philosophy that made the club what it is today.

“Quality without results is pointless, and results without quality is boring,” as Johann Cruyff said.

At the same time, you are also expected to thoroughly use La Masia as one of the asset sources of your team, and must give every single teenager that breaks through the academy a chance with the senior team otherwise fans will call for your head.

All this pressure has, in the past, gotten to Pep Guardiola, Ernesto Valverde, Tito Vilanova, and most recently inarguably the biggest legend of them all, Xavi.

The player-turned-coach resigned from Barcelona, announcing that June 30th will be his last day as the manager of the club.

While the decision was a shock to many, including fans, players, and the club board, a certain Pep Guardiola spoke about it today, saying that he understands Xavi.

“Of course, I completely understand [Xavi’s decision to leave].”

“We cannot compare the pressure in England to Spain, in my experience. It’s 1,000x tougher there. Six press conferences a week, a lot of games. The pressure you feel in Barcelona is not comparable to anywhere else,” Pep added, as quoted by Sam Lee.

Guardiola himself resigned from the Barcelona coaching position back in 2012 before taking up the offer from Bayern Munich. His reasoning was also on similar lines — work not appreciated enough, too much hate, and political chaos all the time.

Speaking about his own one-year sabbatical, and the time he spent in New York at the time, he said:

“It was a good period, I spent time with my family, something I wasn’t doing. But after only 3 months I signed a contract with Bayern Munich, so I think I did not relax much. But it was a good time and a good decision.”