Barcelona Sporting Director Deco accused of being two-faced | OneFootball

When Deco first started to sound as a potential candidate to replace then Director of Football Mateu Alemany,  many wondered about the relationship between the Barcelona Sporting Director and manager Xavi Hernandez. Less than a year down the line, it has not gone well.

Ultimately Xavi is leaving due to the results on the pitch, but in a recent piece by Guillem Balague explaining the sum of reasons that inspired his resignation, Deco is included. There were strong suggestions that by the time Deco left the club as a player, he and Xavi were not seeing eye-to-eye, and when Pep Guardiola arrived, he made Deco and Ronaldinho’s departures a matter of priority.

Balague explains to the BBC that Xavi has felt increasingly alone in the club since the appointment of Deco, and the loss of Jordi Cruyff and Alemany. To Xavi’s face, Deco continues to be supportive in front of the president, backing him to the hilt. However in private, Deco is ‘not afraid to share his misgivings’ about Xavi.

This comes not long after Deco gave an interview claiming that Barcelona needed to break with their old model and search for a new methodology, although he did row back on those comments. With the next choice of manager likely to be an amalgamation of his and Joan Laporta’s preferences, his true views on how Barcelona should play could become much clearer in the coming months.