Xavi Announces Changes for Next Season at Barcelona
Barcelona's coach, Xavi Hernández, stated that the goal for the Blaugrana this summer will be to "make changes, bring in people, and improve" things that they haven't "done well," although he admitted that the room for maneuver will depend on the "economic situation" of the Catalan club.
"The members must understand that we have an economic situation that is nothing like it was 25 years ago. We are not in the same conditions as the other clubs. I understand it and we will adjust to that. We want to compete for titles, but Barça needs stability and time," he affirmed on Wednesday.
From the press room of the Joan Gamper Sports City, Xavi stressed that "right now the objective" of Barcelona "is not to plan for next season's squad," but to focus on "finishing second," which is their "minimum objective" for reasons of "prestige," "economics," and to play in the Spanish Super Cup.
The coach from Terrassa predicted "a difficult match" on Thursday against Almería, a team that in his opinion "deserved many more points than they have won" and that, after having mathematically descended, "has been liberated." "They have talented players in attack and have competed very well against the big teams," he emphasized.
After winning against Real Sociedad on Monday (2-0) and with an eye on Sunday's match against Rayo Vallecano, Xavi anticipated that "there will be rotations," some forced like Ilkay Gündogan's due to suspension, and explained that Ronald Araujo still has some "minor discomfort" and they will decide tomorrow if he is available.
Asked about the future of the Uruguayan center-back, Xavi responded that the player "is happy here" and hinted that he wishes for his continuity by stating: "He knows what I think of him and what I desire for his future." He also revealed that his idea is for the academy player Marc Casadó to do the preseason with the first team.
Referring to Vitor Roque, he stressed that Barcelona's initial intention was not for the Brazilian forward to arrive in December, but they opted to bring him in early due to the injuries to Gavi and Balde so that he could "see what the club was like and compete" with the other forwards on the team.
"Some money has been paid, but he is a young player, in development. Whether he plays or not depends on competition, and right now there are other players in better form, that's why he plays less," analyzed the coach, who continued in the same vein by detailing that Joao Félix "has helped the team a lot," but he faces competition from Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal "at a good level," he affirmed.
