Quique Setién is the current manager of FC Barcelona but I don’t think many supporters expect him to have a long career at the Camp Nou. He just doesn’t have the clout that’s necessary and the 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the latest El Clásico certainly didn’t help his case.
If and when Barcelona executives make a change, one name that will likely be considered is former player and current coach of Al-Sadd, Xavi Hernandez.
In a recent interview with La Vanguardia (via Sport), Xavi went as far as to talk about players he would sign if he were in charge and he named one Paris Saint-Germain superstar in particular.
“I’d sign wingers, like Neymar, I don’t know if he’d fit in in terms of social reasons, but as a player, I have no doubt he would be a spectacular signing, Barcelona already has players who can play inside, but lack wingers like Bayern have. They don’t need a lot of new faces. Jadon Sancho, Serge Gnabry.”
Unfortunately for Xavi, Barcelona’s financial situation means they probably can’t afford Neymar’s transfer fee and Sancho appears to be destined for the Premier League. Gnabry is under contract until 2023 and will come at a steep price too (upwards of €90 million per Transfermarkt).
It’s unclear what Xavi means by “social reasons” when talking about Neymar. Perhaps it’s the media circus that surrounds him constantly. Either way, unless Barcelona can offload several of their high-profile players who haven’t performed as expected, the Catalan club can forget about signing Neymar who has been incredible this season scoring 18 goals in 22 appearances.
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