Barcelona’s director Deco, has offered a public vote of confidence in manager Xavi Hernandez following recent reports of discontent. Xavi has faced increasing pressure due to Barcelona’s inconsistent performance and a string of disappointing results. The scrutiny is said to have intensified after reports suggested dissatisfaction from Joan Laporta and Deco regarding Xavi’s team selection in the 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona’s draw in the match made them lose a crucial ground in the La Liga title race.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez – Getty image However, some relief came for Xavi with a 2-1 victory over Porto in Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League clash. After the Porto match, Deco addressed the rumors, stating, “At Barcelona, there are always rumours. If we renewed Xavi, it’s because we trust him.” Barcelona recently extended Xavi’s contract, expressing their confidence in the club’s legend and player-turned-manager.
Xavi Simons on midfield duty for PSV. Source: Reuters Upon returning to his homeland last summer, he shined under PSV coach Ruud van Nistelrooy. Simons came up with a remarkable 22 goals and 12 assists from 48 games in a PSV jersey, helping the Eindhoven giants win the KNVB Beker and Dutch Super Cup. Nineteen of Simons’ strikes came from 34 Eredivisie matches, and he ended the season as the league’s second-highest scorer behind 20-goal FC Utrecht attacker Anastasios Douvikas. PSG inserted a buyback clause in their deal with PSV for Xavi Simons, set at a modest €6m (£5.2m), and have now activated it. PSV said in a statement; “Xavi Simons has departed from the PSV training camp in Austria to complete a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.” 
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has said that comparisons with his former teammate and coach Pep Guardiola are not helpful for his managerial career. Despite delivering Barcelona’s first La Liga title since 2019, Xavi has faced criticism for his pragmatic style of play, which has led to several narrow victories and a strong defensive record. 
Guardiola and Xavi having a handshake at a match. Source: Getty As a former player under Guardiola, who led Barcelona to unprecedented success with his “tiki-taka” philosophy, Xavi feels burdened by the expectations to replicate his style. Speaking to TV3, he said; “The figure of Guardiola is weighing me down as a coach. I don’t think it’s fair to constantly make the comparison. It happened to me when I was a player as well. Everyone has to turn the page.” While Xavi said he does not feel there has been universal support for what he has achieved at the club, he does feel valued internally, with a new contract until 2026 expected to be agreed soon. 
Vinicius having a faceoff with Valencia fans who racially abused him. Source: Getty However, on Tuesday, May 23, the Spanish football federation’s Competition Committee said they’ve accepted Real Madrid’s complaint and rescinded Vinicius’ red card for hitting Valencia’s Hugo Duro after reviewing the video footage. In the footage the referee was shown before making the red card decision, a clip of Duro grabbing Real Madrid player around the neck with his arm was omitted. Xavi who initially offered his support to Vinicius over the racial abuse he suffered, said last night that the red card decision should have stood after the altercation with Hugo Duro. He said; “I don’t know if overturning Vinicius Junior’s red card is fair. My thoughts are that racism should be condemned. 
Barcelona Coach, Xavi Hernandez at a match in Camp Nou. Source: Getty “It’s a different thing what the players do on the pitch. There was aggression there so I am surprised that they rescinded the red card.” Xavi had previously said the game should have been stopped after the abuse. He who spoke at a press conference days ago said; “Yes, matches should be stopped. It is the only profession in which insults are accepted. I don’t see any baker or teacher being insulted at work. All this has to be stopped. Try insulting a building worker. I’m sure a brick will fall on your head. “It doesn’t matter what shirt you wear. Vinicius is a person before he is a footballer. We have to defend the football professional. I don’t understand as a person, as a citizen, that you have to put up with insults. 
Barcelona Coach, Xavi Hernandez. Source: Getty “We have to get together and get tough. It’s an educational issue. You don’t have to go to a football stadium to insult. If I go to the theatre and I don’t like the play, I leave, but I don’t insult. “We have to condemn that and educate people. We are in an environment where we are insulted and called names. It is very difficult not to bounce back. We don’t have an educated environment in the world of football.” 
Confirming that they are interested in bringing Messi back to Camp Nou, Xavi told reporters; “Yes [Barcelona met with La Liga], but not only for the possible arrival of Leo. We’ll see in order to improve the squad for next year, but it is not the important issue; there is still a league to win. 
“Tomorrow we have a key game and this is the important issue. This is a matter of Mateu (Alemany) and he informs us, but, in theory, everything is going well. In the end, we don’t know if it’s going to happen or not. It’s very soon to talk about it. We are focused on the match against Betis and on winning La Liga, which would give us a lot of stability. We will talk about possible signings.” 