No stopgap, but the structural problems remain: the marriage between Xavi and Barcelona will last (for a while).

Se queda. Xavi (44) announced at the end of January that he would make way for FC Barcelona after this season, but 3 months later the club icon changed his mind. He stays, but the brain twist still raises questions. Commentator Michael Van Vaerenbergh: “Barcelona’s economic situation remains grim.”

On January 27, Barcelona lost 3-5 to Villarreal. Xavi did not give up and announced that same evening that he would leave the club of his heart on June 30.

The former Camp Nou crowd favorite was lured back at the end of 2021 as a replacement for Ronald Koeman.

In 2023 he won the national title with the struggling Barça, but this season the football was often substandard and Barcelona took blow after blow, especially in the period around his farewell speech.

3 months later, Xavi has taken his discourse in a different direction. “This project must not end now,” he explained his about-face at a press conference on Thursday.

Apparently the group of players in particular would have convinced Xavi. They rate him highly and the strong holders want him to stay.

Michael Van Vaerenbergh

“He must have negotiated well with chairman Joan Laporta,” football commentator Michael Van Vaerenbergh begins his search for an explanation for Xavi’s move.

“They had been talking for some time and Xavi had held off a few times, but apparently the playing group in particular would have convinced him. They rate him highly and the strong players want him to stay.”

Why has that signal only come now? As always with Barcelona, ​​you learn something from the numbers. It cannot be denied that Barcelona has performed better since Xavi’s initial message, at least in terms of results.

“Xavi said at the end of January that his announcement would free his players, because they now knew what awaited them. I thought that was a strange reasoning, but we now know that it turns out to be correct.”

“Until the defeat and elimination against PSG in the Champions League, Barça had not lost 13 games in a row. The football had also improved.”

Last Sunday, Barcelona lost the Clasico against Real Madrid, but that match may also have played a role in the decision.

“At Barcelona they attributed the defeat to decisions by the referee, but on Sunday evening you could see that the difference on the field was less than the 11-point gap in the standings suggests,” said Van Vaerenbergh, Sunday commentator for Eleven DAZN at Bernabeu.

“That match will have strengthened chairman Laporta’s thinking. Perhaps the gap can be closed with Xavi?”

The sporting part is one part of the story, the financial reality is the second chapter. And that noose still hangs tightly around the neck of Catalan pride.

“Barcelona especially needs top performances in the Champions League to bridge the gap, because the gap to Real remains enormous.”

How do you enter the market with a budget that is already in the red? Then it will be easier to convince your current trainer.

Michael Van Vaerenbergh

That is precisely why it is whispered that Xavi’s turn is motivated by financial necessity. Can Barcelona find a viable replacement? You don’t tempt a top player like Jürgen Klopp for an apple and an egg.

Van Vaerenbergh: “Xavi and Laporta refuted that at their press conference. The trainer said that he waived his entry bonus, so that Barça could use that money for a new trainer.”

“These are of course words for the stage. The economic situation is and remains what it is: very grim. La Liga has imposed a salary ceiling of 200 million euros on the club and Barça is still 200 million above that.”

“They still have to sell players, but the boys who can be sold will not yield huge sums. So they are still at a loss.”

Of course, that does not strengthen your negotiating position with a new coach. “How do you enter the market with a budget that is already in the red? Then it is easier to convince your current trainer.”

Moreover, Michael Van Vaerenbergh emphasizes, Xavi has certainly not done badly either.

“He won the championship last year and this season he was not favored by the circumstances. Due to the many injuries, he was barely able to play with his ideal midfield.”

“The chairman is also not from yesterday. Xavi breathes Barcelona. He is a Catalan and he has experienced the boom from the front row.”

“You can’t say yet whether he will become a real top coach like Pep Guardiola. I think he is very nervous on the line. He has already been sent off three times, more than he has ever experienced as a player.”

“It would have been better for his mental peace if he had stopped, but as a board it is also easier to sell to your supporters that he will stay.”

“No, I certainly don’t see it as a stopgap from Laporta to buy some time again, because then you rate Xavi too low. But it is clear that Barcelona is once again confronted with its structural problems.”

It would have been better for his mental peace if he had stopped, but as a board it is also easier to sell to your supporters that Xavi is staying.

Michael Van Vaerenbergh

Xavi wasn’t feeling too good to admit that he had to eat his words. Was the display a few months ago an ego issue?

“He is rubbing his hands now,” estimates the follower of Spanish football. “Xavi indicated in January that he was tired of the backbiting and the backroom politics. He was suffering greatly and even seemed to be on the verge of a burnout.”

“There were board members who did not want to continue with him and things were not going well with sporting director Deco, one of his teammates at the time.”

“He had taken them quickly with his decision, but now they will have to go through the dust.”

“That everything seemed to be fine with the press talk? Oh well, what else can you do than put your hands on each other? Just be sure that there is and will remain friction between Deco and Xavi.”