Xavi: I Will Leave At The End Of The Season!

Xavi Hernandez is determined to leave Barcelona coaching, after the end of the current 2023-24 season, even if he manages to win the Champions League title. Xavi spoke about the necessity of his departure immediately after the end of the season, during the press conference he held after the distinguished victory achieved by Barcelona over Napoli in the second leg of the Champions League final, with a score of 1-3. Xavi said, "Even if we win the Champions League, I will leave coaching Barcelona at the end of the current season. It is time for a change." He added, "When I announced my departure at the end of the season, the fans thought that I would lose the dressing room and that we would not take any steps forward, but we have now advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and we are performing well in the league and we are still competing. We played a wonderful, even very comprehensive, match today." He continued, "I said before that the team will move forward as soon as I announce my departure at the end of the season. Today we reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in four years. The team fought for that, and these are moments to enjoy." Regarding his opinion of the performance presented by the young centre-back, Pau Kuparsi, he said, “He is a very calm personality and does not play with tension, and what he presents is a truly wonderful scene. My heart rate does not rise and I feel comfortable when I see the ball at Kuparsi.” Xavi described the participation of Sergi Roberto and Oriol Romeo in the 60th minute instead of Fermin Lopez and Andreas Christensen as the ideal opportunity to breathe oxygen, explaining, "Roberto and Romeo gave us oxygen with this participation. This team has many advantages." It is worth noting that the first-leg match between Barcelona and Napoli ended in a 1-1 draw at the Diego Maradona Stadium. After achieving victory in the second leg, Barcelona accompanied Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Manchester City to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.