Xavi’s potential destinations – ranked.

• Xavi will leave Barcelona at the end of the season.
• Much of the discourse has surrounded the next Barca manager, not Xavi’s future.
• Where next for the Spaniard?

An era which once promised so much at Barcelona has reached its epilogue. In January, Xavi Hernandez, the once marvelous midfielder who functioned as the beating heart of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Catalans, revealed that his tenure as Barca coach would draw to a premature close at the end of the 2023/24 season.

The current campaign has been one of indifference for Spain’s reigning Champions, with the tension and ” entorno” surrounding the club playing major factors in Xavi’s decision to step down. Much of the discourse in the wake of Xavi’s announcement has focused on who’ll succeed the Spaniard at the Helm, little has been made of the manager’s future. Here’s how 90min ranks potential job openings for Xavi after he departs Barcelone come summer.

Like Barcelona, Liverpool will be on the hunt for a new manager in the summer after Jurgen Klopp revealed that he’d be stepping down at the end of the season following a nine-year tenure at Anfield. However, Xavi isn’t a name the Reds are likely to entertain. His body of work doesn’t suggest he’ll be capable of guiding an incredibly emotional club through what could be a painful rebuild in the wake of Klopp’s exit.

Liverpool is more likely to target Xavi’*s former international teammate Xabi Alonso for the role instead. Chelsea is desperate for the Mauricio Pochettino project to come good for a myriad of reasons. However, the Argentine’s debut season has been laden with misery outside of their success in the domestic Cups.

The Blues are once again mid-table fodder in the Premier League, and there’s a chance that the club part ways with Poch should their campaign end in a similar vein to 2022/23 ( 12th in the final standings ). If Toddy Boehkly is incessant on sticking with a project manager’ in the wake of another failure, then Xavi might be a name they consider. However, Chelsea fans are more likely to clamor for a return to the DNA that made them so successful under Roman Abramovich’s ownership.

As it stands, it’s hard to envisage Xavi marauding the home dugout at Stamford Bridge. It’s just not a great match. Xavi wound down his playing days in Qatar with Al Sadd before beginning his managerial career with the same club. The Spaniard enjoyed plenty of success in Qarar and would perhaps be open to a return if he fancies a period out of the limelight after enduring the chaos of Catalonia.

However, the national team job in more likely than a return to the Qatar top flight with Al Sadd, Presuming Xavi is a man of lofty ambition, what does he have to prove at the club where he’s been there and done it? The former midfielder once said he’d be open to coaching the Qatari national team at the 2022 World Cup, and while that window passed, he might fancy guiding them on their journey to the 2026 tournament.