Laporta finally explains why he sacked Xavi

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has finally spoken to fans of the club concerning the termination of Xavi Hernandez’s contract as the manager of the club. 

Xavi was fired from his job as Barcelona coach at the end of the current season, months after Laporta convinced him to overturn his decision to resign.

The Barcelona board, spearheaded by Laporta, implored Xavi to continue after he announced his resignation; hence, the news of the sacking shocked many. Laporta has finally come out to clear the air. 

Speaking on 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 on BarçaOne, Laporta explained the decision to sack Xavi and replace him with Hansi Flick. 

He confirmed the reports that suggested that Xavi was fired because of his gloomy comment about the club's finances and how it impacted their ability to compete. Laporta explained that after Xavi agreed to continue, he gave the impression that he trusted his team; however, his infamous press conference caused a rethink. 

“Xavi told me that he trusted this team, but then some of his statements looked like he changed his speech,” Laporta said. 

“It caused me to rethink... and I had the feeling that I had to do a change, also with the same feeling shared with the board.”

Speaking on hiring Flick, Laporta said, “I started thinking of Flick as Barça manager since I re-joined the club.

“He started studying the team right after Xavi’s announcement. All the reports we have on Flick were super positive. Deco and Bojan also had same feeling; Flick had to be our coach.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona have now been informed how much they have to pay to sign Joao Cancelo from Manchester City.