Xavi Hernandez has been out of work since being sacked by Barcelona at the end of last season. He is preparing to return to football in the summer, but at this stage, it is far from certain where his second job in Europe will be.
During the season, which is being classed as a sabbatical year for the Barcelona and Spanish football icon, Xavi has been regularly linked to various clubs. He has also avoided speaking to the media, but this week, he conducted an interview with France Football (via Diario AS). He confirmed that he has nothing agreed to return to the bench from the summer, and that he is open to any possibilities – which include managing again in La Liga, even if it is not the Catalans.
“I don’t have anything planned, I’m open. Why not coach another La Liga team? I’m looking for an exciting project, and I have the ambition to win trophies. This is the main objective. I will be listening to different offers.”
During the interview, Xavi revealed that he has taking in a lot of football matches over the course of his sabbatical, with Ligue 1 sides among those being watched. He discussed the dynamic in French football, which centred on the difficulty of going up against Paris Saint-Germain.
“This season I mainly saw French clubs competing in the Champions League and also Olympique de Marseille. It’s difficult to compete with PSG, who have a wonderful project and an extraordinary team… It’s interesting to see what solutions Luis Enrique tries to find against the low block, with very favourable possession in the local league.”
It will be very interesting to see where Xavi ends up for his next job in football. He was largely impressive during his spell as head coach of Barcelona, although it was clearly time for him to move on when he was sacked.
