What did Xavi actually say to anger the Barcelona board? | OneFootball

The subject of the fresh tensions behind the scenes at La Liga giants Barcelona has of course positioned itself front and centre in the headlines in Spain over the course of the last 24 hours.

This comes amid widespread claims that the Barca board, in particular Joan Laporta, have been left furious with the club’s head coach.

Xavi, for his part, sat down for his latest pre-match press conference on Wednesday, with his comments having not gone down at all well with the Camp Nou brass.

Some outlets have gone as far as to claim that, when all is said and done, in fact, they could cost Xavi his job.

What, though, did the former midfielder actually say?

The understanding across the media is that the comments to have landed Xavi in hot water related to the financial situation at the Camp Nou, as well as the need for reinforcements to his squad.

In his pre-Almería presser, the following were the (pretty innocuous) quotes on the part of Barcelona’s boss regarding as much:

“We are going to try to compete (with Real Madrid). The situation is difficult economically. It is not like what used to happen 25 years ago, when the coach came and said ‘I love this one, this one and this one’. It doesn’t work like that anymore. I understand what’s happening and that’s how we’re going to manage it. Right now, we are not in the same conditions as other clubs with better fair play. The fans should know. But this doesn’t mean that we won’t try to achieve our goals.”

Conor Laird | GSFN