Xavi’s announcement that he will leave Barcelona this summer came as both a shock and a relief to many.
The club legend, who had just won La Liga’s title six months earlier, was watching his side collapse in front of his very eyes, with fans and pundits alike all questioning whether he was really the man for the job.
Here’s how it all went wrong for Xavi.
Xavi was backed heavily in the summer of 2022, with Barcelona moving heaven, earth and shares of Barca Studios to raise the money to fund a shopping spree which featured the £42.5m signing of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.
One of the greatest strikers the world has ever seen, Lewandowski bagged 23 goals in his first La Liga campaign and was crucial to the team’s title triumph. It seemed like the perfect fit.
Nobody knew it at the time, but this signing would ultimately play a major role in Xavi’s departure. The boss’ faith in Lewandowski, whose goals would dry up in 2023/24, left many fans questioning his decisions.
Everybody knew the mess Barcelona were in back in 2022 but, while nobody was expecting them to win the Champions League, there was no way they should have been eliminated from the group stage without even playing their final two games.
Big money had been spent on the likes of Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha, as well as the free transfers of Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Marcos Alonso, but Xavi failed to make his team competitive in the competition which has always mattered most to Barcelona fans.
This wasn’t fatal, but this elimination did start spreading doubts about Xavi’s ability to hang with Europe’s elite.
Having figured out a way to tighten up his side’s defence, Xavi watched Barcelona romp to their 27th La Liga title in May 2023.
Clearly, this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it might have been what kept Xavi in a job for so long.
The pressure was now even higher on Xavi, who had seen his side win even while in crisis. If Barcelona were capable of domestic glory in a year of chaos, just imagine what they can do when they start to get more stable in 2023/24?
With veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets leaving the club, Xavi spoke openly about his need for a new midfielder. Busquets may never have been the flashiest…
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