FC Barcelona sacks Xavi Hernández as head coach

FC Barcelona sacked head coach Xavi Hernández at midday on Friday, as announced by the team in a statement.

Hernández will not continue leading the Barça men's team from next season after several u-turns in the last months, where he announced his plan to step down and then backtracked on his words.

At the time, Barça president Joan Laporta celebrated Xavi's decision as a way for stability to prevail however, on Friday, Laporta told Hernández the decision himself, accompanied by the sports vice president Rafa Yuste, sports director Anderson Luís de Souza, 'Deco,' as well as the manager's team: Òscar Hernández and Sergio Alegre.

In a statement, Barça "thank Xavi for his work as the head coach, which adds up to a unique path as a player and a team captain," the text reads before saying that the club "wishes the best of luck."

Xavi Hernández's last game as the head coach of FC Barcelona will be on Sunday in Seville. Meanwhile, the club will announce "in the upcoming days" the team's new structure.

Club president Joan Laporta was left unconvinced about Xavi’s position after the manager's press conference ahead of the game against Almería, in which he said the club's financial situation doesn't give opportunities to sign players to "compete with the best," and that the goal for next season was to "add new people and improve." 

"Things that didn't go well need to be improved. We need to see what the financial situation is," he said. "The current situation is not the same as years ago," he compared to a time when "the coach said who he wanted on the team." 

Hernandez's words didn't sit well with the board as they feel they contradict what he said in April. 

"This project needs to continue. We believe in the stability of the club. This project isn’t finished, we’re working well," he said in April during a press conference. 

“The fans have to realize we need to adjust to this. That does not mean we won’t compete. We will try our best. The target is to improve by bringing in new players in. If we do not change, we won’t get better,” Hernández said.