Manchester United make contact with ex-Barcelona manager about replacing Erik ten Hag | OneFootball

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez did not leave the club in the most ideal fashion, sacked just weeks after the club had given him a public show of confidence, and he stepped back from his resignation. He did break a three-year La Liga drought with Barcelona though, and he has said he felt that his work was valued more elsewhere – it appears that is the case.

There have been rumblings of interest in Xavi over recent months when it looked as if he wouldn’t be continuing at Barcelona, and now Manchester United have reportedly made contact with the Catalan over potentially taking over at Old Trafford. As per DM (via Sport), United have made contact with Xavi twice over the last couple of months, and he is open to accepting a new challenge.

A four-person delegation traveled to Barcelona last week, including Sporting Director Omar Berrada, but this is not believed to be related to Xavi. Clearly he is not the only candidate, and assistant Ruud van Nistlerooy would take over in the interim were ten Hag to lose his job. Another of the top targets, Thomas Tuchel has taken over England, but Ruben Amorim and Edin Terzic are mentioned as alternatives.

Reportedly turning down Roma and Qatar as potential opportunities in recent months, Xavi has publicly declared that he would be interested in managing elsewhere, but would be taking a year off to relax after a stressful 2.5 years at Barcelona. He has maintained that line so far, keeping a low profile in recent weeks, and speaking little publicly.