Xavi will leave the club in July (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Barcelona boss Xavi says he’ll leave the club at the end of the season regardless of whether the club win the Champions League or not.
The Spaniard announced in January that he will step down at the end of the campaign.
Xavi was under severe pressure at the time, following the club’s exit from the Supercopa and Copa Del Rey in January.
It was likely that the Barcelona legend would have been sacked by Joan Laporta had he not announced his decision to step down.
But the club progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday with victory against Napoli.
It’s the first time the club have reached the last eight since 2021, following two years in the Europa League.
But Xavi says he will step aside regardless of whether the club manage to win the competition for the first time since 2015 or not.
Barcelona are through to the last-eight (Photo by Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty Images)
‘You keep on asking me if I will stay if we win the Champions League… no, I will not stay at Barcelona next season,’ said Xavi.
‘My future won’t change, my answer will not change”.
‘I will leave Barcelona at the end of the season. I will enjoy Champions next season but just as fan.’
‘People didn’t believe me; [they said] I was going to lose the dressing room. We have received unfair criticism. There has been too much pressure on the players: ultimatums, life or death [games].
‘I even read that we were the joke of the Champions League. And now what?’
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