On Monday there was unrest at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport. Dozens of journalists were waiting for Xavi, ex-professional at FC Barcelona and a coach in Qatar for several years now.
The club legend landed with his family in Barcelona – according to his own account, to go on vacation in his old homeland. According to the Spanish media, however, with a suspiciously large number of suitcases, allegedly over 20.
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Above all, club president Joan Laporta apparently wants to bring the 2010 world champion back to Barcelona this summer. He seems to have chosen club legend Xavi as the new savior to lead the downed Catalans back to the top.
Barcelona miss too many points
In the previous weeks, the Catalans almost seemed to want to prevent the title themselves. The performance at least allowed such conclusions to be drawn.
Barcelona have suffered two bankruptcies in the last five league games. There were also two draws, including against leaders Atlético Madrid (0-0). The Catalans have dropped ten points since the end of April alone. Too much to be involved in the championship race to the end, despite a few dropouts from the competition.
Even in the Champions League, the four-time title holder did not cover himself with fame. In the round of 16, Barça were eliminated after a disastrous 5-2 aggregate result against PSG. Barcelona had also ruined the start of the season (only eleven points from eight games).
Messi’s performance plays an important role
Felix Martin, Eurosport-Editor from Spain, sees Lionel Messi as one of the main reasons. “When you talk about Barcelona’s performance, you also have to talk about Messi. Because if Messi is good, Barça is good too. But if he doesn’t play the way you are used to, then Barcelona also suffer. Both Messi and At Barça, too, the entire season was a single roller coaster ride, “explained Martin.
Especially at the beginning, it also seemed as if the styles of Koeman and the Argentine did not go together. The change at the top of the club did the rest, explains the Spain expert.
Koeman was installed as head coach by ex-president Josep Bartomeu in summer 2020. Neither Laporta nor the new sports director Mateu Alemany therefore have a close relationship with the Dutchman.
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Another factor could play in Koeman’s cards: Due to the difficult financial situation, Barcelona could hold onto him for the time being – even in the absence of real alternatives, explains Martin. Because the Dutchman’s contract is still running in 2022, in the event of an early termination, the Catalans would have to pay compensation.
“Barça have a lot of debt, they can’t put that much money into the transfer market in the summer. I think they would prefer to invest that little money in the team than to spend it on firing the coach,” believes Martin.
On the other hand, “a team like Barça is expected to make it to at least the semi-finals (der Champions League, Anm. d. Red.) creates and fights for the championship until the last day of the match. “Therefore, it is not yet clear whether Koeman will be allowed to stay.
New transfers planned
A transfer from Sergio Agüero could also be helpful. Signing the striker would make a Messi extension more likely. “Agüero are close friends with Messi. That could indicate that Messi is staying at Barcelona,” said Martin.
The name Memphis Depay was also mentioned several times recently. Barça also wants to sell players like Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti and Martin Braithwaite.
Koeman recently had doubts himself whether he will be in charge of Barcelona for a long time. “I want to and can continue when I have the club’s trust,” the Dutchman said at a press conference. But he is also aware that he has “maximum responsibility as a coach”.
The coming weeks should be exciting for the Catalans.
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