SETTABLOID

Barcelona manager Xavi has remained unmoved on his decision to leave the club in June through thick and thin. Even the team’s resurgence in recent months did not change his stance, and the team’s elimination from the UCL all but seals the same.

The Catalans are said to be interested in giving Rafa Marquez a run with the senior team next season given his familiarity with the team’s ways and academy. Candidates like Hansi Flick, Thomas Tuchel and Roberto de Zerbi have also been linked.

With his story in Catalonia set to come to an end, there has been talk of Xavi’s potential appointment at Ajax, a club in jeopardy and struggling for identity.

SPORT provides an update on the same.

Contacts initiated

As revealed by the Catalan outlet, there have been initial approaches between Ajax and Xavi’s entourage in recent days. The interest from the Eredivisie side is real.

Current manager John van ‘t Schip has announced that he will leave Ajax in June, and the Dutch club’s need for a new manager thus coincides with Xavi’s availability.

Moreover, the Barcelona legend promises to carry forward Ajax’s legacy of Cruyffian football while his propensity to trust youngsters is also seen as a big tick at the Dutch outfit.

The Barcelona manager initially planned to take a year-long sabbatical before his next project, but the interest from Ajax could force him to reconsider.

A club in jeopardy

Despite dominating the European scene not too long ago with the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech, Ajax have seen a steep fall in recent times with the ongoing season, in particular, being a disastrous one.

The result of recruitment failures and managerial inconsistencies now has the Dutch side a staggering 33 points behind leaders and arch-rivals PSV Eindhoven in the title race.

Just coming off a stressful rebuilding project at Barcelona, it remains to be seen if Xavi is willing to take his shot at a second equally demanding job at an elite club.

The powers that be at La Liga giants Barcelona have informed the entourage of one of the club’s next crop of up-and-coming stars of their intention to renew his contract.

Barcelona will be boosted by the returns of Sergi Roberto and Andreas Christensen for Sunday night’s La Liga contest against Real Madrid at Bernabeu.

Roberto and Christensen were both suspended for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, which Xavi‘s side lost 4-1 to exit the competition.

The duo will return to the squad for El Clasico, although Barcelona will again be missing two key players in the shape of Gavi and Alejandro Balde due to long-term knee and hamstring issues respectively.

Ronald Araujo, who was sent off in the first half against PSG last time out, will be aiming to put a difficult few days behind him when he takes to the field in the Spanish capital.

There might be just the one change from the side that started against the French champions, with Christensen potentially returning to a midfield spot, which could see Lamine Yamal drop to the bench.

Such a move would see Pedri pushed into the front three alongside Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, with Christensen featuring alongside Frenkie de Jong and Ilkay Gundogan in the middle.

Inigo Martinez and Joao Felix are among those pushing to be introduced into the XI for this match, but it is likely that the pair will be among the subsitutes for the first whistle once again.

Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Gundogan, Christensen, F de Jong; Pedri, Lewandowski, Raphinha

All eyes will be on Real Madrid and FC Barcelona’s latest meeting this Sunday night, when ELCLASICO takes place at the Bernabéu. This is always a big occasion, but even more so this time around given that Barça need a victory to shake up the title race and cut the gap to the league leaders.

How will Carlo Ancelotti and Xavi go about trying to secure the three points? Well, this is a match which will surely be decided by the fine margins and by a few individual duels. Here, we take a look at five match-ups which could determine who wins the game and, just perhaps, the LALIGA EA SPORTS title.

Ferland Mendy vs Lamine Yamal

The last time Lamine Yamal was at the Bernabéu, he put on a show in a friendly match for Spain against Brazil and was even given a standing ovation when he was substituted off. The 16-year-old right winger already has 10 goal contributions this LALIGA EA SPORTS season, with four goals and six assists, and is averaging 1.6 successful dribbles per game. He has caused defenders problems all season long, but this weekend he’ll be going up against Ferland Mendy, one of the best defensive-minded left-backs in world football. If Mendy can keep Lamine Yamal quiet, that would be a big boost to the home side’s chances.

Andriy Lunin vs Robert Lewandowski

When Real Madrid won that previous ELCLASICO in October, Andriy Lunin didn’t play. At that stage of the season, the Ukrainian goalkeeper was on the bench, with Kepa Arrizabalaga starting for Los Blancos at the Estadi Olímpic. However, Lunin has now won the goalkeeping gloves in the absence of the injured Thibaut Courtois and is having an excellent season. He won’t be able to win this year’s Zamora Trophy because he won’t have played enough games, but his ratio of 0.58 goals conceded per game is actually better than the 0.90 of Unai Simón, the likely winner of the prize. This Sunday, Lunin will look to impress once more and he’ll be going up against a lethal striker in Robert Lewandowski. The duel between the Ukrainian and the Pole could be the most decisive of all.

Pau Cubarsí vs Rodrygo and Vinícius

At the other end of the pitch, Real Madrid’s explosive Brazilian duo of Rodrygo and Vinícius will be looking to cause problems for the FC Barcelona defence. They have scored a combined 22 goals this LALIGA EA SPORTS season and were brilliant in the most recent ELCLASICO, when Real Madrid won 4-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final and when Vinícius scored a hat-trick and Rodrygo the other goal of that game. Since these old foes last met, however, Pau Cubarsí has made his debut for FC Barcelona and wowed everybody with his performances in central defence. The 17-year-old has been so solid at the back and demonstrated excellent passing too, so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in his first ELCLASICO as he takes on Rodrygo and Vini Jr.

Jude Bellingham vs Andreas Christensen

Another mid-season change FC Barcelona have made has been the decision to move Andreas Christensen out of central defence and into central midfield. Xavi realised that the Danish player could be effective in the centre of the pitch at snuffing out opposition attacks, and that would mean keeping a close eye on Jude Bellingham this Sunday night. The Englishman has been brilliant in his debut season in Spain and almost single-handedly won the first ELCLASICO of this LALIGA EA SPORTS season for his side, scoring a brilliant long-range goal and then a stoppage time winner. This time he will have to evade Christensen if he wants to be similarly impactful.

Carlo Ancelotti vs Xavi

There will also be a duel in the dugouts, as Carlo Ancelotti and Xavi try to outsmart each other. They have met in nine previous Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona duels and there has never been a draw, with five wins for the Italian and four for the Catalan coach. Over the years, they have each experimented with interesting tactical tweaks, such as moving players like Ronald Araújo or Aurélien Tchouaméni away from their usual positions. In this 10th meeting, and coming after an intense week of Champions League football, both these coaches may have another tactical trick up their sleeves at the Bernabéu.

Barcelona are presented with the ideal opportunity to patch up their wounds and start afresh in the upcoming clash with Real Madrid.

As Barça will be looking to make a statement and reduce the eight-point deficit in the La Liga points table, first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be tasked with stepping up to the occasion.

Ter Stegen could set record in El Clasico

The German has kept six clean sheets in a row in La Liga, with a strong possibility of breaking his previous record of going 636 minutes without conceding a goal.

Now, for Ter Stegen to hold a new unbeaten record, he must avoid conceding in the opening 53 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ter Stegen has given up 17 goals in 21 league games while keeping 12 clean sheets.

Since returning from injury, the German international has been in good form and has played a part in Barcelona’s improvement in defence.

Ter Stegen has gone over 580 minutes without conceding La Liga, having kept a clean sheet in Barça’s last six league games against Getafe, Athletic Club, RCD Mallorca, Atletico Madrid, Las Palmas, and Cadiz.

And if he goes without conceding for the first 53 minutes of the Clasico, the goalkeeper will break his previous record of most minutes without letting in a goal.

Although the Catalan giants conceded a whopping four goals in their most recent defeat to PSG, complications surfaced largely because of the team’s reduced personnel.

And the team’s inability to maintain any semblance of control with 10 men on the pitch led to a good display by Ter Stegen going in vain.

Barcelona hoping to turn over a new leaf

Barça’s Champions League exit may have blemished their promising form as of late, but the team has been in good shape in La Liga.

Coach Xavi Hernandez was observed rallying his troops in the training session to lift spirits and use the Clasico as a means to give a strong response.

A win would narrow the point gap in the league standings and restore Barcelona’s winning momentum in these final stages of the campaign.

If Barcelona have any hopes of sealing the three points, the onus will be on Ter Stegen to rise to the occasion and potentially bag a new unbeaten record.

Marc Guiu is one of the several Barcelona youngsters to have made a splash on the first-team scenes this season.

Just 18 years old, the striker made big waves, scoring on his La Liga and UEFA Champions League debuts against Athletic Club and Royal Antwerp, respectively.

While he has not seen many minutes in the second half of the campaign, Guiu is a player that Barcelona rate very highly.

Barcelona begin renewal talks

In fact, a fresh report from Mundo Deportivo states that Barcelona are very happy with Guiu’s development and performances.

As such, the Blaugrana have started initial discussions over a contract renewal for the 18-year-old centre-forward.

Guiu’s current contract, which he signed in 2022, runs until the summer of 2025, with the club retaining the option to extend it by two more years.

While that is an avenue that can be explored, Barcelona are of the feeling that Guiu is deserving of a new deal altogether as those previous terms could be outdated.

As such, there have been initial conversations with the striker’s entourage during which the club declared their intention to adapt his contract to his new status.

Guiu, who has emerged as a loan target for Real Sociedad for the summer, is happy at Barcelona and is not interested in listening to any other offers as his only aim is to succeed with the Catalan club.

Guiu is very grateful to Xavi for the minutes he has been given in the first-team setup and is not thinking about a change at this point.

Meanwhile, Barcelona also recognise the youngster’s immense potential and will try and secure his long-term future at the club, although there is no immediate hurry on either side to seal the deal right away.

It’s been a week in the spotlight for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who was sent off against Paris Saint-Germain as they were eliminated from the Champions League. He then fuelled rumours of a rift between himself and Ilkay Gundogan, following the German’s comments about said defeat. Now Araujo is reportedly in talks to leave the club.

Those events aren’t related but Lluis Canut has told Onze that Araujo’s agents are in talks with Bayern Munich over a contract, should the German side complete a deal with Barcelona for him. They will try to agree terms with Araujo before opening talks with Barcelona. Just as worrying for the Blaugrana, albeit it was opinion not information, but Canut explained that the price tag

Araujo himself commented that contract talks are going well with Barcelona, and claims that he is happy at the club. While the second part is not in doubt, talks have been going on for months now with no concrete advances.

His contract with Barcelona is up in 2026, and they had promised to improve his salary as soon as possible. If they cannot find a new deal with Araujo though, it would make sense to sell him this summer, and still more so given the club’s financial situation. With few other valuable players that Barcelona are willing to sell, or are willing to leave Barcelona, increasingly a deal for the 24-year-old looks likely.

Barcelona’s gameplan against PSG in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg came unstuck when Ronald Araujo was shown a red card right around the half-hour mark.

In order to fill the gap at the back, manager Xavi Hernandez made the huge call to take Lamine Yamal off, replacing him with Inigo Martinez.

It was not the most popular call, considering that Yamal had been a bright spot in attack for Barcelona up until that point and had even set up Raphinha’s opening goal on the night.

Lamine had a tough time digesting substitution

Now, SPORT has come forward with a report stating that Lamine Yamal had a very difficult time dealing with being substituted by Xavi in the PSG game.

The 16-year-old was pumped up for the contest which was seen during his warm-ups prior to the game and in the early parts of the match itself.

Barcelona’s loss against PSG in the Champions League has severe implications for the club, both in terms of their finances, as they will miss out on an extra €60 million in revenue, but also in terms of personnel.

Ronald Araujo’s red card, for example, has clouded his future at the club, with reports claiming that the Barcelona board are now in two minds about his future.

While the president wants him to stay, some officials want the Uruguayan gone if an offer worth more than €80 million hits the table.

It has also given rise to Barcelona fans complaining about Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde’s performances, with the latter already linked with an exit in the summer.

And now, Barcelona seem to be ready to throw another player under the bus.

Cancelo’s future in doubt

According to a report published by SPORT, Barcelona are not entirely happy with Cancelo’s performance against PSG. Some people close to President Joan Laporta want the player to leave this summer after his display in the UCL.

The Portuguese fullback was responsible for stopping Ousmane Dembele on that wing. And while he did for a while during the second-leg, he did not mark the Frenchman properly during their equaliser.

He also then gave away an unnecessary penalty for PSG’s third goal, converted by none other than Kylian Mbappe.

Even while going forward, Cancelo did not offer much, creating one chance. Moreover, he also squandered a chance in the first-leg where he should have arguably passed instead of shooting.

Difference of opinion at club

While there are people at the club who want Cancelo gone in the summer, there is also a large chunk of the board that want him to continue, especially due to his performances this season.

His willingness to wear the blaugrana colours is also a huge factor in the operation. He has already rejected approaches from Arsenal, Al-Hilal, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, which paves the way for Barcelona and Man City to reach an agreement.

There is already progress on that front, with the Premier League leaders expecting €40 million for his services in the summer.