Xavi, the anointed candidate to replace Koeman at Barcelona

Barcelona have announced the sack of Dutch tactician, Ronald Koeman, after the team lost to a low-rated Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga match on Wednesday night, set to appoint Xavi Hernandez the new coach.

The loss followed a 2-1 home defeat to rival Real Madrid in the El Clásico at the Camp Nou Stadium on Sunday.

Koeman has been under pressure after a poor start to the season without Lionel Messi in nearly two decades who joined Paris Saint-Germain in August.

Koeman leaves the Barcelona in ninth place in the Spanish league standings with 15 points from 10 matches’

Barcelona won 5 matches and drew 3 this season under Koeman who took charge after Barcelona’s 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich last year’s Champions League.

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Koeman won Copa del Rey trophy last season and will pocket a payout of around £10 million.

Former Barcelona star Xavi Hernandez, currently with Al Sadd in Qatar, is likely to be the favorite to take over at Camp Nou.

Xavi, 41-year-old in a recent interview with Marca, said he is more mature and ready to take the coaching role at Barcelona.

“Yes, I feel ready to coach any team in the world,” Xavi said, confidently, before the Emir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan.

” I have more experience and I’m learning a lot here.”

The former Barcelona midfielder began his journey as a coach with Al Sadd in Qatar, where he has been in charge since retiring as a player in 2019.

Xavi had a ‘Barça clause’ in his contract to let him go for free if a suitable offer comes, but signed a two-year contract extension his contract in May which removed the ‘Barca clause.’

Barcelona will in the coming days sort out Xavi’s contract issue with Al-Sadd and announce him the new manager.

If sorted out quickly, Xavi might take charge of Barcelona’s next LaLiga match on Saturday at Camp Nou against relegation-threatened Alavés.