Barcelona, a Catalonia-based club, is a prominent force in world football. The club’s unique play style and nurturing young talents over the years are what make it different from the other clubs in the world. However, in recent years, there’s been a huge drop in the standard at Barcelona.
The club has been in a very bad situation since the resignation of former President Bartomeu. It has been in debt of over a billion, leading to financial constraints on acquisition of players and just a few weeks ago, Xavi also announced his departure. This created a lot of questions as to who would be the next manager of Barcelona.
Barcelona wants Mikel Arteta to replace Xavi
Last month, Xavi announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season. Since then, the board members have started their quest to find the club’s next manager, with top names like Xabi Alonso and Thomas Tuchel, and now Arteta is the newest manager linked to the Blaugrana.
According to Alex Pintanel of Relevo, Barcelona is keeping an eye on the current Arsenal manager. He has been categorized as the “most liked” manager option by Barcelona Sporting Director Deco and President Joan Laporta. As per reports, the President of Barcelona has even “made a call” to Arteta directly.
🚨🌕| BREAKING: Barcelona have contacted Mikel Arteta. Laporta and Deco like him very much. Barça have called him. However, the process is seen as complicated. @relevo pic.twitter.com/oseqz5wyGX
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) March 6, 2024
Last time, though, Arteta denied all the rumors about him potentially becoming the next Barcelona manager and called the speculation “fake news.” However, current reports suggest that Barcelona has made their moves again in their pursuit of Arsenal’s manager.
Arteta has been Arsenal manager since 2019. Since then, he has given his all to the club and has brought the club where it deserves. Arsenal is sitting in the third position in the league, challenging for the title and is still active in the Champions League. Arteta’s contract with Arsenal expires in 2025, so it will be quite a challenge to persuade Arteta to join Barcelona.
Barcelona struggling in all comps under Xavi
Xavi has been one of the club’s greatest players and is now the manager of the team. He accepted the role of manager during their tough times, when many other managers hesitated to step in. Since then, he has elevated the club to their esteemed standards. However, in recent years, Barcelona has been underperforming under Xavi. Thus, this season, Xavi announced his departure at the end of the season.
In the current season, too, the club’s performance hasn’t been up to par. Barcelona has been sitting 3rd in the league, 8 points behind league leaders Real Madrid. They have already been knocked out of the Copa Del Rey after failing to register a win against Athletic Club in the quarterfinal.
They also failed to win over their archrival Real Madrid, as they lost in the final of the Supercopa de Espana after being thrashed 4-1. However, they are still in the Champions League but due to the increasing injury crisis, they seem to be in deep trouble and have a very low chance of advancing to the next stage.
Even though Xavi has a 56% win percentage and has won the League and the Spanish Super Cup in the 2022–23 season, Barcelona has not lived up to the standards that it was known for. After being the Blaugrana manager, Xavi has failed to deliver in the Champions League, which also raises questions about his performances during big games.
The process of managers leaving a club and joining a new one has been going on for a long time. And with the news of Xavi departure and many other managers linked with the club it would be exciting to see who will be the next manager of Barcelona and also where Xavi’s future lies.
