Assured classification among the top four, Barça’s next challenge is to stay second. You will have finished successfully, or relatively successfully, the first campaign of Xavi Hernandez in front of the first team. “It’s not about me triumphing, but about reviving Barça”, says the coach to distance himself from comparisons with Ronald Koeman and leave his predecessor in a bad place.
“When I say that in November we were in a bad way, it’s not a criticism of Koeman, it’s that Barça, in general, was like that,” says Xavi, alluding to the team’s ninth place in the standings, still alive in the Champions League and waiting to start his career in the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.
🗣 Xavi: “It’s not about me triumphing, it’s about Barça refloating” #ForçaBarça 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/5NXMOvPxOA
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) May 9, 2022
Insufficient results
“Many times the numbers of the old coach are compared, Koeman did a great job and so did we”, claimed Xavi in response also to the criticism he receives for the lack of titles in the five competitions played (including the Europa League) .
Xavi is satisfied with his work, but he knows that this year’s results will be insufficient next year, even though Barça, under his command, have beaten the top nine teams in the League. And to get them, he understands that he needs signings. He has already asked Joan Laporta, the president. No answer yet. The market, from now in May until August 31, will be long. But short is the economic capacity of Barça.
“We have a pretty clear plan,” said Xavi before receiving Celta on Tuesday (9:30 p.m.). “But the economic situation of the club marks us a lot: depending on the money we will do one thing or another. The situation is tough, although it is our reality,” added the coach about the serious problems of the entity.
Precariousness without Busquets
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It is not so much about liquidity, but about the management of the moment. Barça needs to increase income to raise the salary margin of expenditure in the squad, but starts from a negative plane with less than 144 million expenses that it has to reduce; that is, before signing he needs to transfer, but the players have very high chips that they do not want to reduce and that other clubs cannot afford.
The absence of Sergio Busquets today serves as an example of precariousness. It is one of the positions in which he has no replacement for the starting midfielder. With Nico and Pedri injured, he will have to place Frenkie de Jong, “a player who needs freedom” in a position that requires placement. The movement of pieces will make it easier for Riqui Puig to start. Xavi recruited Álvaro Sanz and Jandro Orellana, from the reserve team, to have midfielders against Celta.