Barcelona has had a difficult and challenging 2023-24 campaign. The team lags behind Los Blancos on the pitch, while financial problems off it have loomed large. On top of all that, there was the saga surrounding Xavi's future and the on-and-off uncertainty about whether the Blaugrana legend was staying on at Camp Nou or not.
In February, it seemed as though Xavi was off. Then, in April, he went back on that, and all appeared to be settled. A month later, Xavi made some comments about the club's financial position and its ability to remain competitive at the top of La Liga while Madrid spent heavily again on their team.
So, a few weeks later, as the season tailed off ignominiously with Barca falling out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage and trailing in the wake of Real's all-conquering side, Xavi's exit seemed inevitable. And he was duly sacked at the campaign's end to be replaced by former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick.
Joan Laporta sheds light on Xavi and Mbappe
Well, now Laporta has gone public with his side of the story, claiming that after earlier positive statements from Xavi, his coach changed his tune and appeared to be questioning the club's and, therefore, by extension, the President's ambition.
And so for the Blaugrana President that was not good enough so he had to go.
Laporta also touches on other issues in his statement regarding the Catalan club's situation, which is going into a difficult transfer window. On the club's precarious finances—which have cast doubt on what transfer business Barcelona can do this summer and whether they will miss out on targets—Laporta has attempted to reassure supporters that things are not as bad as they seem.
In particular, the status of loan players Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo still appears to be up in the air. Speaking specifically about these players, Laporta is hopeful that those deals will be renewed, although whether that is the right decision—especially in Felix's case—is open to question.
Talking of players and their comings and goings, like Barca's fans, Laporta is understandably concerned at the arrival in the Spanish capital of French superstar Mbappe. His move gives the new champions even more firepower in a team already loaded with young attacking talent and makes life even harder next season for Flick and his team.