SETTABLOID

At the time of writing, Xavi Hernandez is still intent on leaving Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 season, and a surprise name has now emerged to replace him.

Despite having a two-goal advantage over Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League tie earlier in the week, the sending off of Ronald Araujo changed the course of the match and the Catalans were dumped out of the premier European competition again.

Since they last won the trophy, when Xavi was Luis Enrique’s captain against Juventus in 2015, they have surrendered in the latter stages to the likes of Roma, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and PSG.

On each occasion they’ve either had a significant lead overturned or been humbled by the opposition.

Things aren’t really getting any better for the Catalan giants, and so Xavi’s intent presents them with another problem when they need it least.

Both Thomas Tuchel and Hansi Flick had emerged as early contenders to take over from Xavi should he follow through with his threat to walk out on the club of his life, though the club’s significant financial issues represent a huge barrier for either to take up the position.

Whilst their salaries wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, it would be their inability to make significant moves in the transfer market because of Financial Fair Play constraints that makes the role an oddly unattractive one.

It’s perhaps with that in mind that ESPN are now reporting that Barca B coach, Rafa Marquez, is being considered for a promotion.

The Mexican played alongside current sporting director, Deco, and Xavi, and even though the Portuguese dismissed Marquez’s candidacy earlier in the season, he might now be the best option that Barcelona have during this difficult period.

It’s believed that the club will try and persuade Xavi to stay in the first instance, but that’s looking less and less likely at this stage.

Following the opening goal to take a 1-0 lead (4-2 on aggregate), FC Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo handed Paris Saint-Germain a lifeline by committing a foul that led to his direct red card. This left the Catalan side with ten men for the remaining hour of the match.

PSG took advantage of the situation, scoring four unanswered goals. The first goal came from Ousmane Dembélé, who again haunted his former club late in the first half. 

Vitinha scored in the 54th minute to even the aggregate score at 4-4, putting the Ligue 1 side ahead 2-1 in the match. Kylian Mbappé followed up with a penalty kick goal in the 61st minute and sealed the deal

with another goal in the 89th minute, securing a 6-4 aggregate victory.

Understanding that his mistake gave PSG the advantage to advance past Barcelona, Araújo went on Instagram to apologize to his teammates and supporters.

“The football that gave me so much joy now hits me hard,” Araújo wrote. “I thank all those who are unconditionally by my side, my teammates who left everything on the field, and the fans who believed in this team until the end. I am very sorry not to give you this joy… We will try again. Força Barça!” 

PSG are now off to the Champions League semifinal, where they’ll face Borussia Dortmund, whom they’ve already encountered in the group stage this season.

Barcelona head coach is giving serious consideration to shaking up his starting XI for the club’s upcoming showdown with Real Madrid.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who have on Wednesday provided an insight into the latest developments behind the scenes in Catalunya’s capital.

In a recent edition of the Daily Briefing, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano offered an update on the future of Barcelona defender Jules Kounde. Romano said,

FC Barcelona were unable to get a victory in one of the most significant matches for them this season, as the Catalans fell to a defeat to Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Xavi’s men were unable to make their advantage from the first leg count as PSG scored four goals in this match to win the tie 6-4 on aggregate. Ronald Araujo’s expulsion in the 29^th minute was the event that shifted the tie in the Parisian’s favour, and this sequence is expected to have impacts on Barcelona even after their elimination from the top European competition.

As already reported here, the German veteran Ilkay Gundogan did not mince his words when reviewing the game after the full-time whistle, and clearly criticised some of his teammates, with Araujo taking most of the vitriol in particular.

Now, reactions to Gundogan’s comments from other members of the Barcelona dressing room have started coming in, with Araujo’s colleague in defence, Jules Kounde, putting in a thinly veiled response to the German’s comments.

As SPORT has reported, the Frenchman took to social media to thank the supporters for their support, but still highlighted how this match was meant to be seen as a team effort and not as a sum of individual errors:

“An immense disappointment not to qualify for the semifinals when we had everything to do it. By the way, we win as a team and we lose as a team, always. It’s time to recover and prepare for this Sunday’s Clásico. Thank you for the support, culers.”

Although he did not specifically mention it, the second sentence of the message, that accompanied a photo of Kounde in black and white, is clearly a response to Gundogan’s criticism.

In addition to the French defender, Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto also shared a similar message, as he wrote: “Now more united than ever, here we win and lose together.”

It is clear that Araujo’s expulsion was the most influential event of this match, and the Uruguayan deserves the criticism that is coming his way. However, the team also needs to stand united at this low point, and Barcelona fans will be hoping that these to-and-fro comments do not end up ruining the dressing room atmosphere.

Ronald Araujo has sent out a heartfelt message after being sent off for Barcelona against Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League.

The hosts were leading 4-2 when Araujo saw red for a tug on Bradley Barcola who was through on goal. The sending off changed the match with PSG going on to win 6-4 on aggregate.

Araujo had now broken his silence on the incident, admitting he’s been hit hard by the blow and he’s “very sorry” not to have delivered a place in the semi-final for fans.

“Football that gave me so much joy, is now hitting me hard,” he said. “I thank all those who are unconditionally by my side, my teammates who left everything on the field, and the fans who believed in this team until the end. I’m so sorry for not giving you this joy. We’ll try this again. Go Barça, now and forever! God is in control.”

Araujo has come in for a fair bit of criticism for his mistake. Ilkay Gundogan has spoken about the red card and said the defender would have been better to have simply let Barcola go, while Thierry Henry has said he should not have dived in.

Tuesday night’s result was a bitter pill to swallow for FC Barcelona as they lost 1-4 at home to PSG, leading to their elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

The fact that the Blaugrana had an advantage from the first leg in Paris and had further added to that by scoring early last night, only to collapse in the manner they did makes it even more frustrating.

Naturally, the defeat left a bitter taste for the players as was surmised from their comments after the match.

The locker room is devastated

Now, SPORT’s Toni Juanmarti has come forward with a report which describes the mood and the atmosphere in the Barcelona locker room after the knockout from the Champions League.

As per the report, the Barcelona dressing room had collapsed and left feeling devastated after Tuesday night’s outcome against PSG.

The performance in the first leg in Paris last week had reinvigorated the locker room and got them dreaming about success in the Champions League.

With La Liga potentially out of their hands, the players sought success in Europe and the aim was to progress as far as possible in the competition even though they might not necessarily win it.

With caution but with confidence, Barça faced the return leg capable of resisting PSG’s onslaught. The euphoria around them also made imagining themselves in the semi-finals a more realistic exercise.

But after the final whistle last night, the players felt empty. In a matter of an hour’s play, they went from seeing themselves among the four best in Europe to calling the season all but over.

After everything was done, Barcelona stars left the dressing room one by one looking crestfallen. The bitter aftertaste was doubly bitter, because in the end the dressing room already sensed that Xavi’s continuity was much more unlikely after the elimination.

Keep on fighting

While the mood in the dressing room may be at an all-time low, Barcelona players know that they cannot stop fighting, especially with a huge game against Real Madrid coming up in days.

The squad knows that they have to give their all until the end and, above all, secure second place in La Liga, so as to secure a place in the Spanish Super Cup for next season.

Barcelona head coach Xavi branded referee Istvan Kovacs a ‘disaster’ in the aftermath of their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Having beaten PSG 3-2 in the first leg of their quarter-final last week, Barca were favourites to advance to the semi-finals. Their second got off to a brilliant start when Raphinha put them 1-0 up on the night.

However, Ronald Araujo was sent off for the hosts after 29 minutes for hauling down Bradley Barcola on the edge of the box as the last defender. Barcelona pleaded that contact was minimal and fellow centre-back Pau Cubarsi was there to cover him, but the red card stood even after a VAR review.

In the second half, Joao Cancelo conceded a penalty for a late tackle on Ousmane Dembele, while Ilkay Gundogan was denied a spot-kick at the other end after falling under a challenge from Vitinha.

Xavi and goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente also received red cards for continued and angry protestations on the touchlines. In his post-match press conference, the Barcelona boss unleashed his fury towards the referee.

The arrival of Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City in the last summer transfer window was a real coup for FC Barcelona, especially considering their weak financial position.

However, Gundogan’s leadership style is not always easy to bear, as he does not usually bite his tongue when he feels the team has not played up to his expected standards. He publicly criticized his teammates after the loss to Real Madrid earlier in the season, and did so once again after Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League last night.

Without taking any names, Gundogan clearly made his feelings known on who was responsible for the loss in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, as he clearly mentioned the sequences of play that cost Barcelona the game.

According to Diario AS, as opposed to the situation that happened after his team’s criticism earlier in the season when he had to justify his words in the Barcelona locker room, this time the reaction of the team to his words has not been as forceful. In fact, more than one player has already supported Gundogan’s point of view.

Still, it remains to be seen how the players condemned by the German will react to the criticism in the coming days. Ronald Aruajo, whose red card turned the balance of the game in PSG’s favour, was one of the players clearly criticized by Gundogan, while Cancelo and Lewandowski were also not spared.

Thus, Gundogan’s statements can cause a rift in the Barcelona locker room, and with the crucial La Liga match against Real Madrid just around the corner, the German’s words can cause the team more harm than good, irrespective of his intentions.

Ilkay Gundogan has become a scourge in the Barcelona camp in the face of calamity.

The midfielder does not appear to hold himself back when Barcelona perform poorly on the pitch. Six months ago, he came out quite strongly against Barça’s performance against Real Madrid in El Clasico – something that wasn’t taken well by his teammates.

However, Gundogan did it again last night, publicly criticising Barcelona’s performance against PSG and highlighting the mistakes the team made on the night.

Teammates come in support of Gundogan

While many had raised their eyebrows when Gundogan publicly criticised the team’s performance against Real Madrid, the reaction has mellowed down this time around.

According to Diario AS, many of his Barcelona teammates supported Gundogan’s assessment of the match and had no qualms with the German publicly criticising the team.

Against Real Madrid, Gundogan was even asked to justify his words and provide explanations behind his comments.

This time around, not even a single Barcelona player asked for any justification. Gundogan has not been urged to rectify his statement either.

What’s next?

Gundogan’s entourage maintains that it is the midfielder’s way of speaking – direct and open. And although the midfielder has received support from his teammates, it remains to be seen how others react to the scathing criticism.

Ronald Araujo, in particular, found himself on the crosshair of Gundogan as the German pointed out his mistake that led to a red card.

Araujo is slated to come out with a book next week and it will be interesting to see whether or not he addresses the issue there or opts to settle down the matter.

One thing is for sure – the atmosphere in the Barcelona dressing room is tense right now, which in turn, could hinder the club’s preparation for the highly-anticipated El Clasico this weekend.