SETTABLOID

According to Fabrizio Romano, Xavi has been sacked by Barcelona. The decision by club president Joan Laporta comes ahead of the Blaugrana’s final game of the season against Sevilla.

Having previously decided to quit the Camp Nou at the end of the 2023/24 season in January, Xavi announced three months later that he had made a U-turn on his decision following discussions with Laporta about seeing out the remainder of his contract, following an impressive run of form.

However, tensions then arose between the duo. Xavi’s comments after the club’s win against Almeria about not being able to financially compete with Real Madrid and other elite teams in Europe did not go down well with the club’s hierarchy. The Athletic reported on Thursday that there was a very high chance that the former Barcelona midfielder could decide to change his decision once again and leave the club.

Although talks about his future were said to be scheduled for after Barca’s final game against Sevilla, the decision has now been confirmed by Romano on social media. The Italian journalist has said that former Bayern Munich and Germany manager Hansi Flick is expected to take up the position for the 2024/25 season.

Barcelona head coach Xavi could be taking charge of La Blaugrana for the final time when the Catalonian giants head to Sevilla for their closing match of the 2023-24 La Liga season on Sunday.

The 44-year-old could comically be departing in spite of his recent U-turn on his resignation, as Hansi Flick is apparently in line to take charge for the 2024-25 campaign and beyond.

For what could be his last game as Barca boss, Xavi will not have Alejandro Balde (hamstring), Gavi (ACL) and Frenkie de Jong (ankle) at his disposal, but his side emerged unscathed from last Sunday’s 3-0 beating of Rayo Vallecano.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept his 15th clean sheet of the campaign in that fixture, but he cannot catch Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon at the top of the Golden Glove charts; the Spain international has 17 to his name.

As a result, Xavi is rumoured to be considering giving Inaki Pena a shot in between the sticks, but the backline of Pau Cubarsi, Jules Kounde, Joao Cancelo and Inigo Martinez – in favour over Ronald Araujo – should remain untouched.

Ilkay Gundogan‘s midfield spot is safe too, but Andreas Christensen is vying to replace Sergi Roberto in the deepest engine room position, while Pedri scored twice off the bench against Vallecano and could step in for Fermin Lopez.

A delicate cross from Lamine Yamal to Robert Lewandowski triggered Barca’s goal rush last weekend, and the pivotal pair ought to continue in the final third alongside Raphinha for the closing weekend.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Cancelo; Pedri, Christensen, Gundogan; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

As days pass by, it is looking increasingly likely that Xavi Hernandez will not continue as the head coach of FC Barcelona, despite the club having convinced him to stay for the next season only around a month ago.

Therefore, the Catalans are already looking for options to replace the departing former midfielder on the Barcelona bench, and the candidate that is looking the most likely to take this position for the next season is the German coach, Hansi Flick.

As SPORT has reported, the Polish striker has played under 14 different managers during his career, but it was under Flick that he was the most productive. Lewandowski played 71 games under the German manager and scored 81 goals, thus having a scoring average of 1.10 goals per game.

The Polish striker and the coach worked together for two seasons at Bayern Munich, 2019-20 and 2020-21, and the forward also recorded 22 assists during this time in addition to his goals. The two won a treble in the first of these two seasons.

Other than Flick, Lewandowski has played with some other highly notable coaches in football. He has played the highest number of games under Jurgen Klopp, having accumulated 187 games under him at Borussia Dortmund.

Lewandowski has played 94 games under Xavi at Barcelona, but under him, the Pole has a significantly low scoring average of 0.61, as he scored 58 goals in these 94 games.

Barcelona always keep an eye out for up-and-coming young talents from across the globe in a bid to strengthen their youth ranks with an eye on the future.

It has led to the signings of talents like Mika Faye and Noah Darvich, while several other young prospects are on the agenda of the club heading into the summer.

Barcelona trying to sign Allen Obando

As such, Mundo Deportivo reports that FC Barcelona are trying to sign 17-year-old striker Allen Obando from Ecuadorian outfit Barcelona SC.

Allen Obando made the leap to the first team of the Ecuadorian side and has shown signs of his quality with a goal and two assists in the nine games he has played.

The 17-year-old’s performances earned him a call-up to the Ecuadorian senior national team during the March international break.

Obando has a contract until 2026 and a market price of €1 million, but everything suggests that the amount of the future transfer of the striker will be much higher if Barcelona do continue in their pursuit.

The interest of Barcelona has been confirmed by Antonio Alvarez, who is a candidate for the presidency of the South American outfit.

Indeed, Alvarez revealed that the Blaugrana have been trailing Obando for months now and even held a meeting with him recently to discuss the signing.

“This team has been behind me and Allen for many months. They asked me to go on the 12th of this month, but I couldn’t go because I didn’t want to leave the team alone because it’s a family,” he said.

‘On Friday, Barcelona’s sporting vice-president, José Luis Nogales, went with Carlos Obando, Allen’s father, and they were at the Barça-Rayo Vallecano game.”

Revealing the details of the meeting, he added: “I went to Barça and spoke to the directors of Barcelona, we spent about three hours looking at their facilities. I spoke with Rafa Yuste, Barcelona’s number one vice-president.

“I did not speak to Laporta because he had a health problem. We talked and met with Deco, the club’s sporting director.”

Spanish national team coach Luis de le Fuente has said that he is a big fan of Barcelona midfielder Pedri, adding that he is the kind of footballer who never fails.

The Euro 2024 Championship is fast approaching and national team selectors are starting to announce their squads.

For Spain, coach De la Fuente is set to announce his squad list on Monday, May 27, right after the domestic league season concludes.

Until then, he will be making his final decisions and resolving any uncertainties he might have about his choices.

Amidst all this, he has hinted at a few possible selections from Barcelona while speaking about the likes of Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Pedri.

“I am a fan of Pedri. Whenever I have had the opportunity I have always bet on him,” said the coach as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.   

I want Pedri to be Pedri, with the ability and talent he has as he is the kind of player who never fails. 

He has a big competition and we don’t know what will happen this weekend. Did playing Euro and the Games affect him? The good players are the ones who always play. 

If a player is available, I’m in favour of him being able to play as much as possible. Of course, we have to assess the situation. If the clubs say no, we will have to negotiate,” he added.

On Fermin, Lamine Yamal and Gavi

“Fermín is doing very well. He is a player who has surprised us all in this short time he has been in La Liga. And the most important thing is how the season is ending.”

Furthermore, while mentioning the young Barcelona forward, Lamine Yamal, De la Fuente admitted that it would be wrong to charge the attacker with a lot of responsibility at the competition.

“We would do a lot of harm to Lamine if we charged him with the responsibility of leading the national team,” he said. 

“I always remind him to be humble. Those who are putting him on a pedestal are the first ones who are going to crush him when his level drops. 

“He has to know that he is different. We have to take care of his talent. But we are wrong if we are telling him all day long how good he is.”

Lastly, when asked about what would be his worst moment of being the Spanish national team coach, he added, 

“Without a doubt Gavi’s injury. That day you should have seen the locker room, it was completely collapsed and damaged. For the football and the human, Gavi was essential,” he admitted. 

Ronald Araujo faces an uncertain time at FC Barcelona, despite the fact that he is one of the team’s captains and a vital part of their plans.

The 25-year-old defender has a contract with the team until 2026 and the club has been trying to offer him a new deal for quite a while.

However, Araujo has not yet responded to this new proposal, and with more and more clubs showing interest in him, his future at Barcelona remains uncertain.

As things stand, Barcelona are not very optimistic about Araujo staying beyond this season.

Now, club president Joan Laporta wants him to continue, but the sports management is starting to think that he might be more likely to leave.

They realise that while Araujo is a key player, he could also be sold for a significant amount of money, which could help resolve some of the club’s financial issues.

An insight into the remarkable developments which played out behind the scenes at La Liga giants Barcelona late last month has today come to the fore.

In a recent report, journalist Graeme Bailey stated that on-loan Red Bull Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons wants to join Barcelona this summer. It is understood that the Catalan club could face competition in the form of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester City in the race to land the Dutch attacker, who is currently playing on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

Simons’ Impressive Loan Spell In Spanish Football

Simons has experienced a productive loan spell at the Red Bull Arena after putting in a string of impressive displays for the German club in the final third. The 21-year-old has banged in ten goals and secured 15 assists in 43 matches for RB Leipzig this season across all fronts.

An insight into some of the finer details of the meeting between La Liga giants Barcelona and tactician Hansi Flick on Wednesday have today come to the fore.

The info comes courtesy of Diario Sport, with one point of particular interest coming in the form of Flick giving the green light to a cut-price summer addition to the club’s midfield ranks.

It is now common knowledge across the Spanish football landscape that a change on the bench at Barcelona is all but imminent.

As much comes with the Blaugrana brass, just weeks on from confirming his continuity for next season, ready to send Xavi packing from his post.

Because of their well-documented financial woes, Barcelona will be forced into making at least one significant sale during the upcoming transfer window. Right now, a likely candidate to be the player that moves on is Ronald Araujo.

Araujo has been in contract negotiations with Barcelona over the last few months, although Sport have reported that very little progress has been made. This has led club bosses to doubt the Uruguayan’s continuity, despite his status as a key player.

The report states that Araujo could look for a new challenge in the summer, and recently, he has been linked with a move to the Premier League – specifically to Chelsea.

Araujo could have already played his final minutes as a Barcelona player, as he is rated as doubtful for Sunday’s trip to Sevilla. His departure would be a massive blow, although the money his sale would generate would be incredibly helpful in terms of generating funds to be spent on new signings.