Xavi Hernandez Announces Departure from FC Barcelona: A Shift for Club and Coach

Xavi Hernandez will not continue as the head coach of FC Barcelona after June 30, 2024. He made this announcement in a press conference after reaching a consensus with the Blaugrana board. “I would like to announce that on June 30, I will cease to be the coach of Barça. As a culé, I cannot allow this situation; a change of direction and dynamics is needed for the players to free themselves, for the good of the club and the board,” he stated. “Announcing it will ease the general situation; I feel the utmost responsibility. A great job has been done, but I think about the club. I feel good, and I free myself; I’ve had this decision made for days; I don’t want to be a burden to the club,” the coach continued. “I want the best for the club, and the best for the club is for me to leave on June 30,” he explained in the press conference.

Regarding how this unfolded, he explained, “We have just met with Laporta, and I have communicated it to him. Until now, they have shown me a lot of trust; I don’t move for economic reasons; my heart moves me.” As previously reported by Sique Rodríguez and Jordi Martí on ‘Carrusel Deportivo,’ despite poor results, the Catalan coach had the support of the board.

“I had decided this for a long time.” The Barça coach assures that, for him, this is the best for everyone, selfishly for him as well, in his words: “I think about the club, the board, and above all, the players. I am the maximum responsible; I don’t want to be a problem. Leaving on June 30 is the great solution for Barça.” For the Catalan coach, this is a “change in dynamics, not an issue of energy.” “I ease everything with this announcement; today, you will kill me less… being in office for another year would kill me,” he added.

“I have been thinking about it for a long time; I hope we win the Champions League. With today’s announcement, I am more optimistic; it will help us compete. I haven’t told the players yet; I saw them very affected today,” he said, adding that the decision is made even if the team lifts the Champions League trophy. Moreover, he surprised when he said that he had made the decision some time ago but was looking for the right moment to make it official.

“The feeling of being the coach of Barça is cruel, unpleasant; there is a lot of lack of respect. Energy is decreasing, affecting you, leading to this decision,” he pointed out before saying that the Blaugrana bench is mentally taxing, and all the noise affects him mentally.

His Words on DAZN After the Match Xavi, who made headlines during the match by telling a camera, ‘It’s a shame,’ after a handball by Comesaña in Villarreal’s penalty area that was not called, held a press conference full of headlines in Montjuic after announcing his departure at the end of the current season. In the post-match on DAZN, the Blaugrana coach explained about that controversial image on the field: “I am going to be sanctioned; let them sanction him because I don’t want to generate more controversy. Without any excuse, that play marks the match, and the fourth referee tells me that it is a clear penalty, that it hits the elbow. I don’t want to talk more, but there are the images.”

“They are our mistakes. Yesterday I said in a press conference that we were maximizing our mistakes, and today I think it’s the summary of the season. Dynamics have no explanations because we lost a match we deserved to win. The players are emotionally down, but we have to keep going; we have come out of worse situations as a club,” explained the Catalan coach on DAZN’s microphones.