Barcelona announced on Friday that coach Xavi Hernandez will be leaving the club after failing to secure any trophies this season.
The announcement comes just weeks after Xavi and club president Joan Laporta had agreed that he would remain in the post.
Xavi will lead the team for one final La Liga match on Sunday against Sevilla before his departure.
“Barcelona president Joan Laporta has told Xavi Hernandez he will not continue as coach for the 2024-25 season,” said Barcelona in a statement.
Former Bayern Munich and Germany coach Hansi Flick is heavily tipped to replace Xavi.
Back in January, Xavi indicated he would leave at the end of the season, but a strong run of form led to an agreement in April with Laporta for him to stay for the next campaign, with his contract set to expire in June 2025.
However, the situation changed rapidly, with Spanish media reporting that Laporta was angered by Xavi’s comments about the financial challenges facing the club in competing with Real Madrid and other elite European teams.
“Barcelona want to thank Xavi for his work as coach, which adds to his unmatchable career as a player and the captain of the first team, and wish him all the best in the future,” the statement continued.
“In the coming days, Barcelona will reveal the new coaching structure for the first team staff.”
Barcelona won La Liga last season but were unable to defend the title this year.
The team faced a series of setbacks:
they were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Paris Saint-Germain, suffered a heavy defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final, and lost to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey.
When Xavi, 44, reversed his decision to leave in April, it seemed he and Barcelona were set to continue together.
“It’s great news that Xavi is staying,” said Laporta on April 25.
“The team we have, that is (still) consolidating, with very young players, needs that stability.
Xavi is a reference for young players and we can see that — today I’m especially pleased, and the board have unanimously supported this decision.”
However, less than a month later, Laporta changed his mind. Despite Xavi’s assurances over the past fortnight that he was looking forward to coaching next season and felt he had Laporta’s confidence, the decision was made to part ways.
Xavi was appointed in November 2021 to replace Ronald Koeman, with the goal of restoring the club’s former glory after years of European struggles since their 2015 Champions League triumph.
As a player, Xavi made 767 appearances for Barcelona, second only to Lionel Messi, and won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among other trophies.
Although coaching Barcelona was a long-held dream for Xavi, he admitted in January that the job was “cruel” and mentally taxing.
Hansi Flick, 59, is expected to take over the role.
Flick has not coached since Germany sacked him in 2023 after a series of poor results.
However, he has a strong track record, having led Bayern Munich to a treble in 2020, which included an 8-2 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.
