Xavi Hernández had ambitious plans for Barcelona, intending to move on Robert Lewandowski, João Félix, João Cancelo, and Vitor Roque if he remained as coach, sources revealed to ESPN.
Xavi was dismissed by Barça last week, with his final match being a 2-1 victory over Sevilla, leaving the Catalan side second in LaLiga and without a trophy this season. Prior to his departure, Xavi had radical plans to revamp the squad, particularly in attack.
The coach aimed to rejuvenate the team by offloading top scorer Lewandowski, loanees Félix and Cancelo, and January signing Roque.
Lewandowski, 35, has two years remaining on his four-year contract, though the final year depends on his game time next season.
The Polish striker, who has netted 59 goals in 95 appearances since joining from Bayern Munich in 2022, expressed his desire to stay at the club last week. He is represented by Pini Zahavi, who also represents German coach Hansi Flick,
Xavi’s expected successor according to ESPN sources. Flick previously worked with Lewandowski at Bayern, leading the team to a treble in 2019-20.
Jorge Mendes, another influential agent at Barça, represents Félix and Cancelo, both of whom spent this season on loan at the LaLiga club.
Félix is set to return to Atlético Madrid and Cancelo to Manchester City, although they might return to Barcelona this summer.
However, sources told ESPN that Xavi was not eager to re-sign either player.
Félix, who started his loan spell strongly, finished the season out of the squad, scoring 10 goals in 44 appearances.
Cancelo was a regular under Xavi when available, but sources indicated that the coach was content for the Portugal international to return to City.