Reasons behind the dismissal of Xavi as explained by Barcelona president

Joan Laporta, Barcelona's president, has opened up about the events that led to Xavi's termination towards the end of this recent season. According to Laporta, a shift in Xavi's attitude triggered the decision.

Xavi, who had only just rescinded his decision to step down a month prior, was let go following a clash with Laporta over the squad's performance. Xavi subsequently challenged Laporta to publicly clarify the circumstances surrounding the disaccord.

In response to Xavi's challenge, Laporta has now shared the details with Barca One, the in-house network of the club, discussing the conflict that resulted in Xavi's exit from the club.

Laporta emphasised, 'Xavi performed well,' He took charge of the team in very dire circumstances.

'He secured a La Liga and Super Cup victory last season. However, this season things have been less successful, to an extent where Xavi announced his willingness to step down. We agreed to it at the season's conclusion since Xavi is a dedicated Cule and we thought it was better to avoid swapping coaches mid-season.'

'Afterwards, he expressed interest in staying on, at which point I inquired if he still believed in the team, he assured me he did. What consequently changed? He appeared to be unable to handle the pressure. He shifted his narrative during a certain press conference, and during a meeting with the sports director, he modified his demands. This led me to believe the team required a change.'

'Consideration for replacing him with Hansi Flick, whom I considered sufficiently competent to compete with any squad, tipped the scales. Xavi and we parted ways cordially. He has remained true to his word, and so have we. Consensus has been achieved.'

When asked for additional details, Laporta added: 'Everything became strained when we chose to persist. Xavi's legendary status and eagerness persuaded us to ratify him. As soon as he made those remarks and drastically altered his demands, the sporting directors were left unable to see the way forward, I felt the need to make the decision. The board possesses the authority to make and revise such decisions, much like Xavi.'

Eager to move on, Laporta expressed his enthusiasm for collaborating with Flick, who has already been confirmed as Xavi's replacement.

'Out of deference for Xavi we delayed our course of action, to avoid distracting the team with finding a new coach,' the Barca president stated. 'We didn't want to disrupt the team's focus, especially with a Champions League quarter-final coming up.'

'I had already approached Flick, but he was committed to the German team and wanted to keep his word. When Xavi confirmed that he wouldn't be staying on, Flick started studying the squad and the most effective strategy for using it. When we reconsidered keeping Xavi on, Deco and Bojan met with Flick. Once he agreed, we were confident that he was the best and most capable option.'