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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Xavi Hernández will not continue as Barcelona coach after this season, saying he will not be able to get the team out of a losing streak.
Xavi announced his decision on Saturday, minutes after Barcelona lost 5-3 to Villarreal in the Spanish league, leaving them 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
“I would like to announce that on June 30 I will stop being Barça coach,” said Xavi. “As a Barcelona fan I cannot allow this situation to continue, we need a change of direction and dynamics.”
Xavi said he made the decision “several days ago” and, although the tough defeat against Villarreal set the stage for him to announce the decision, he “would have made it” fairly soon. He said he hoped this decision would lessen the stress and strain on his team.
“The feeling of being Barcelona coach is cruel, unpleasant, you feel like you don’t get the respect you deserve,” said Xavi. “It wears you down, it affects your mental health, your emotions, to the point that you say you can’t take it anymore. My loved ones know it.”
xavi returned to barcelona as a coach in November 2021 with his only experience a stint in Qatar. He has a contract until the end of next season.
Xavi, 44, led Barcelona to the Spanish Super Cup title and the Spanish league title last season, the club’s first trophies since the departure of Lionel Messi. He The club mortgaged its future. help him achieve this by signing players like Robert Lewandowski.
But Barcelona has struggled this season and has shown serious signs of collapsing this month.
Barcelona recently saw its two best chances of winning a title this campaign evaporate. Xavi’s team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey after losing in extra time against Athletic Bilbao 4-2 on Wednesday, a defeat that came two weeks after Barcelona were dismantled by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.
After the Villarreal debacle, Xavi said that his players lacked the “maturity” to know how to maintain the advantage, and after the Bilbao defeat he also stressed that he was playing with several young players. But that seemed to contradict the fact that his starting team was led by veterans like Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and players in their prime like Pedri González and Frenkie de Jong.
Barcelona will play Napoli in the Champions League round of 16 next month. Xavi said he was still motivated to lead the team in what is undoubtedly a long shot to end his time with a European Cup.
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AP Football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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