FC Barcelona Board Disapprove Of Xavi’s Starting Line Ups: Reports

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco disapproved of head coach Xavi Hernandez’s starting line up against Rayo Vallecano at the weekend according to the Tot Costa program on Catalunya Radio.

In the same broadcast, journalists on the show explained that it is not the first time that the board have questioned Xavi’s first XI, and this has been reported on by AS as being “part of a scenario in which there seems to be some distrust from the president and the sporting director” with the manager and his staff.

Barca slipped to fourth place in La Liga this weekend after drawing 1-1 in Vallecas.

They are now four points behind leaders Real Madrid in the defense of their domestic crown, and the deficit could have been as many as six had Girona also not reached a stalemate of the same scoreline with Athletic Club on Monday night.

Earlier that day, Xavi held a pre-match press conference ahead of a Champions League clash with Porto where he said that he feels he has 100% backing from Laporta and Deco.

As revealed by Tot Costa, however, Laporta was unhappy with the side Xavi put out after expecting to see regular starters in the line up facing Rayo.

The same source added that sporting director Deco, who is a former teammate of Xavi’s, expected to see the likes of Ronald Araujo, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Felix in the mix and not rested for the must-win clash against another club the Portuguese once represented in Porto.

This is reportedly not the first time that the board has questioned Xavi’s line ups, and Cadena SER’s Que T’hi Jugues program previously explained that there was “discomfort” after Barca’s defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in Hamburg which put them at risk of not winning Group H.

At the Montjuic Stadium on Tuesday, Xavi is expected to field his strongest possible outfit with at least six changes.

Mundo Deportivo called the fixture the “first final” of 2023/2024, and noted that anything less than a win which guarantees top spot in the group, and therefore facing a second-placed foe in the knockout phases, could “muddy the atmosphere” in Can Barca.