Barcelona president Joan Laporta has detailed the reasons for Xavi's shock departure as head coach and the subsequent arrival of Hansi Flick as his replacement.
Back in January, Xavi said that he would be standing down as manager of the Catalan giants this summer, but he was then talked into a U-turn by senior figures at the club.
It was then announced at the end of May that Xavi had been sacked by Barcelona, with Flick arriving as his replacement, and Laporta has now provided the reasons for the change at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
"Xavi has done a good job, he took over the team at a time of maximum difficulty. Last year we won the league and the Super Cup, but this year things haven't worked out," Laporta said on the President's Podcast on Barca One.
"In February I accepted that he should leave in June because he is a Cule and because it also helped us not to look for a replacement urgently. Then he asked us to continue and I asked him if he believed in the team and he said yes.
"What changed? A change of discourse about the squad and made me realise that I had to give another impulse, it made me think again, and I thought of Hansi Flick to get the best out of this squad.
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Xavi had initially reversed his decision to leave this summer
"It has ended elegantly with Xavi, who has the club's doors open to him because he has earned it. It has ended well and we are giving the team a boost.
"Everything was forced when we accepted Xavi's continuation because he had said he was leaving. He then spoke to the sporting management about substantial changes to the squad, I won't go into the past with names, but the sporting management didn't see it clearly, and neither did I and I decided to give another impulse with the change of coach.
"With Deco, I have a great relationship and his opinion influences, although I took the decision. Having the option of Flick we made the decision that we believe will be best for the squad.
"Everything could have been done better. The what is decided. But the how was done according to the circumstances of the moment and we were playing for second place in La Liga.
"After beating Rayo [Vallecano], I told Xavi that we would talk after the match in Seville because that week Barca women's team were playing in the Champions League final.
"But Xavi's uncertainty and longing to know what was going on meant that it was announced before the women's final.
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Flick inherits a team which finished second in La Liga last term
"I had to make this decision with Barca legends. My heart told me to continue but my head didn't. I hope that the good relationship will continue, with time we'll see.
"I have already experienced it with [Ronald] Koeman, [Gerard] Pique, [Jordi] Alba, [Lionel] Messi, Busi (Sergio Busquets) and now with Xavi. All decisions are for the good of Barca in a difficult journey in the desert that I can already see ending. The interest of the club is above all else."
Laporta then explained Flick's arrival, adding: "I thought of Flick as the father of a German coaching dynasty whom I couldn't sign at the time because he accepted the German national team.
"Since Xavi said he was leaving, Hansi has been studying the squad and looking at how to use these players. When we decided that Xavi wasn't going to continue, Deco and Bojan met with him. He is very excited, he is calm, responsible, mature.
"He gave us peace of mind that this is going to go well. I told him where I was coming from, to a club that is more than a club, owned by the members, so that he would understand our way of seeing life. He gave me a good feeling."
Flick was in charge of Bayern Munich between 2019 and 2021, winning a treble during his time at Allianz Arena, before managing Germany between 2021 and 2023.
Matt Law
