Barcelona star sends backing to manager Xavi Hernandez – ‘We want him to stay’ | OneFootball

Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has backed Xavi Hernandez as manager, following a disappointing exit in the Copa del Rey. It leaves their hopes of a trophy this season on life support, with an eight-point gap to the league leaders Girona, and seemingly little hope of a run in the Champions League.

Araujo had praise for Athletic Club after their 4-2 defeat, noting the degree of difficulty in facing them first.

“Athletic are a great opponent and even more so on their patch, where their people support them a lot. I focus on the fact that we competed throughout. We had a lot of injuries, young people had to play a lot of minutes… but we still showed character,” he told Sport.

“It is always a tough blow to be put out of a competition, but we have to keep fighting. There are two competitions left, La Liga and the Champions League, Napoli are coming up, we now have two home games… We have to continue and find good feelings.”

He was also asked about Xavi Hernandez’s future, and Araujo sent out a positive message.

“Well, it’s something that depends on the board, but Xavi has helped us a lot. The players support him and want him to stay,” he finished.

Last week his defensive partner Jules Kounde had told the press that regardless of the manager, it was up to the players to step up and make a difference. However there have been rumours of malcontent in Can Barca too. Xavi reportedly got into an argument with Frenkie de Jong in the dressing room last week, with Sporting Director Deco intervening.