After a harrowing defeat to Villarreal, which saw Barcelona concede five goals on home soil, manager Xavi Hernandez announced his decision to leave at the end of the season.
At that point in time, there was a widespread belief that it was perhaps best for both parties to go their separate ways, given Barça’s string of poor performances.
However, since then, the Catalan giants have experienced a resurgence in their form, not losing a single game and throwing shades of the team that Xavi steered to a La Liga trophy.
Owing to the newfound stability in Barcelona’s performances, Joan Laporta and co. appear to be in favour of Xavi’s continuity, so much so that Laporta publicly declared his intention of retaining the 44-year-old coach.
While Xavi has shown no inkling of reversing his decision, according to SER, at the club, they would never rule out his stay depending on the results of the season.
If Barcelona perform impressively in the Champions League and execute a late title charge for La Liga, Xavi may be encouraged to stick around.
Barcelona continues to be hopeful because a comparable instance happened in the past.
President Josep Luis Nunez spent eight more years with the Blaugranes after he had announced his departure three days before Barcelona became the inaugural champions in 1992.
As such, if Barcelona triumph over PSG in the quarter-finals, defeat one of Borussia Dortmund or Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals and end up lifting the trophy at Wembley, history could repeat itself.
Time will tell if Xavi opts to extend his tenure with Barcelona or stays true to his word. The upcoming clash against PSG could provide an answer.
