Lionel Messi has endorsed Barcelona’s push to make Xavi their new manager after the exit of Ronald Koeman, according to reports.
Koeman was sacked by Barcelona on Wednesday night after the team’s disappointing start to the campaign.
The La Liga giants have recorded just four wins from 10 matches in La Liga this season, while in the Champions League group stage they have been beaten by Bayern and Benfica.
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The 1-0 defeat away to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday sealed Koeman’s fate and Barcelona are now looking to secure a permanent replacement.
According to Cadena COPE, Barca president Joan Laporta is keen to appoint Xavi as the club’s new head coach and has already begun talks with their former captain.
The report also claims that Messi also wanted his former teammate to replace Koeman before he ended up leaving the Camp Nou in August.
Xavi is currently managing Al-Sadd and is yet to reach an agreement with the club which would allow him to return to Spain.
In an interview with 20 Minutes last week, Xavi made no secret of his desire to manage the Barcelona team.
‘My ideal is to coach Barca, that is my goal and my dream and I have never hidden it,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if it will happen or not, if they will need me or not, but at the moment I am happy to be in Al-Sadd and very proud of it.’
According to RAC1, Xavi is Barcelona’s number one option but there could be a difficulty in appointing him immediately.
Meanwhile, former Barcelona player Rivaldo also issued his support for the return of Xavi.
‘After the departure of Koeman, I would very much like Xavi to have this opportunity to be the new coach of Barcelona,’ the Brazilian posted on Instagram.
‘I have a lot of confidence in him to get the Club out of this situation.’
