Barcelona sack Xavi, set to announce Flick as replacement

Xavi has been sacked as Barcelona manager and the club is set to announce former Bayern boss Hansi Flick as his replacement.

The ex-Barca star will take charge of the team for the final time on Sunday, when they host Sevilla in their last La Liga match of the season.

Ripples Nigeria recalls that Xavi had announced in January that he would leave the Camp Nou at the end of the season, but he was persuaded to stay by club president Joan Laporta in April.

But alas the 44-year-old, who had been contracted until 2025, was informed of the club’s decision on Friday.

Read Also: Xavi makes u-turn, to continue as Barca manager until 2025

It is believed in many quarters that recent comments from Xavi, in which he opened up about the club’s financial struggles, had angered Laporta.

In a statement, Barcelona said they would like to “thank Xavi for his work as a coach” since taking charge in 2021.

After guiding Barcelona to the La Liga title in 2022-23, Xavi’s side put up a disappointing defence to their crown this season and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Paris St-Germain.

59-year-old Flick who is set to take over, has been out of work since he was sacked by Germany in September 2023.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now