Barcelona manager race: 45-year-old coach with little experience the candidate most liked by board | OneFootball

Barcelona Atletic boss Rafael Marquez is once again the best-placed coach to take over from Xavi Hernandez, following reports that the senior coach will not be there next season.

After several statements made by Xavi provoked the ire of Barcelona President Joan Laporta, it is being widely reported that the decision has been taken to relieve Xavi of his duties. It has opened up the race for the job again, with three familiar names back on the scene.

Sporting Director Deco has been told to start working out potential alternatives again, and Porto manager Sergio Conceicao, who is a good friend of Deco’s and a client of influential agent Jorge Mendes, is being mentioned again. As is Hansi Flick – his agent is also close to Laporta, Pini Zahavi, and it is rumoured that Barcelona were due to meet with Flick if Xavi was to leave the club.

However the best-placed is Marquez. Sport and RAC1 are both reporting that Marquez is the candidate that generates the most consensus in the board, and is the favourite of Deco too. He also has the advantage of being the cheapest coach to appoint of the lot.

The 45-year-old has little experience in top level management, and found himself in hot water for betting advertising and comments that he would happily take over from Xavi next season in February. Yet he has done well to get Barca Atletic into the play-offs this season, despite missing a number of top young players like Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, Hector Fort and Fermin Lopez, all of whom he was likely to have at the start of the season. With two games to go and the play-offs on the horizon, they currently sit second in their Primera RFEF group.