Barcelona presidential candidate Font reiterates desire to hire Xavi
Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font reiterates desire to appoint Xavi as manager in April and claims club legend will be in control of club’s whole ‘football project’ if he’s elected
- Barcelona’s presidential elections are set to take place on Sunday, January 24
- Victor Font and former club president Joan Laporta are the frontrunners
- Xavi rejected the chance to succeed Ernesto Valverde as boss in January 2020
- But Font insists the football project and management will be built around Xavi
Victor Font has once again insisted Xavi will return to Barcelona to manage the side if he is elected the club’s president later this month.
The elections are due to take place in a little more than two weeks’ time on January 24, with Font and former president Joan Laporta the frontrunners to be named Josep Bartomeu’s permanent successor.
Xavi rejected the chance to become Barcelona boss nearly 12 months ago now when Ernesto Valverde was fired following the club’s Spanish Super Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Athletic Bilbao.
Victor Font (left) insists Xavi will return to Barcelona as manager if he is elected president
Font and Joan Laporta are favourites to be named Josep Bartomeu’s permanent successor
But speaking to Spanish outlet MARCA, Font claimed if he is elected the current boss of Qatari club Al Sadd will not reject the advances of his former side this time, and would be involved ‘in the project’ from day one before replacing Ronald Koeman in April.
‘As of the 25th (the day after the elections), he will begin to supervise the entire football project and once the season in Qatar is over in April he will join the club,’ Font said.
‘Xavi’s dream is to coach. We want Xavi to be the person in charge of the football structure. That is, he will have enough power to make the most important decisions.
‘And being clear that his dream is to be a coach, as soon as the club needs him in that position, he will be.’
Xavi rejected the chance to succeed Ernesto Valverde (right) last year after he was sacked
The comments come after Xavi’s former Barcelona and Spain midfield partner Andres Iniesta revealed it is just a matter of time before the former makes his return to the Camp Nou.
Speaking to the Dafia programme on the AlKass sport channel last month, Iniesta – who made 674 appearances for Barcelona and now plays for Japanese club Vissel Kobe – said: ‘ This depends on Xavi and Barcelona, one day Xavi and Barcelona will meet, I don’t know when, but I have faith that this will happen.
‘Xavi has the potential required to do it with Barca. I hope that everything improves and that the stability of the club recovers with the next elections because things are not going well at the moment.’
But Font insists Xavi will be part of the project from day one and will replace Ronald Koeman (right) in April once the season in Qatar is over
Al Sadd currently sit eight points clear at the top of the Qatar Stars League and continued their unbeaten start to the campaign with an 8-0 drubbing of Al Sailiya on Thursday.
Barcelona meanwhile sit seven points off the pace in third and have played two more games than LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid ahead of the Catalan giants’ visit to Granada on Saturday.
Xavi made 767 first-team appearances for Barcelona between 1998 and 2015, and also won a staggering 133 caps for Spain.
He won eight LaLiga titles, three Copa del Reys and four Champions League trophies as part of his 25 titles with the club.
Xavi’s former Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta said it is inevitable the former will return
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