“I don't know anything, I'm on vacation, really.” These were the first words of Xavi Hernández as soon as he landed in Barcelona, at the edge of 14:10, coming from Doha. The Al Sadd technician, who had not set foot in Catalonia for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, found a communion of journalists and cameras waiting for him at the exit door of Terminal 1.
Rumors about the possibility of Xavi releasing Koeman on the bench have multiplied in recent days, especially after the information published by the 'Diario Ara' last Saturday about an imminent meeting with Joan Laporta to talk about the possibility of taking the witness of Ronald Koeman for the next season. However, both the club and the player's own environment have systematically denied the major, ensuring that there is nothing yet and that they do not plan to meet with anyone from the club, at least imminently.
What seems clear is that Koeman's days at the helm are over.. The latest results, especially after the defeat against Granada at the Camp Nou (1-2), have precipitated events, with Laporta determined to promote a revolution both on the bench and in the squad.
Evidently, Xavi is one of the best positioned candidates: he knows the house perfectly, with an impeccable career both as a player and as a coach, a cornerstone of the best Barça of all time, fully identified with the Blaugrana DNA and eager to take on the challenge of his life, after having said 'no' twice on previous occasions because he considered that his moment had not yet come.
Xavi, who arrived accompanied by his family, plans to stay in Catalonia for more than a month, so he has taken a total of twenty-two suitcases with him, an amount of luggage that more than one took for granted that invited to think that no longer he was going to leave …