A defiant Xavi Hernández said on Friday he has no intention of stepping down as Barcelona coach and does not understand the noise that is being generated around the club.
Barça registered back-to-back defeats this week, losing to LaLiga leaders Girona 4-2 at home on Sunday and then 3-2 at Antwerp in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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They have now lost four of their last nine matches, a run which has seen them slip seven points off top spot in the league ahead of Saturday’s trip to Valencia, increasing the pressure on Xavi.
“No, no,” Xavi said in a news conference when asked if he had considered if his time as Barça coach had run its course following recent results and performances.
“At the end of the season, you look at where you are and what you have won. I am a positive person. We can still have a great season. Everything is still in play.
“Now is a moment for union and to believe more than ever in the project and these players. There is union with [sporting director] Deco, [president Joan] Laporta and [vice president] Rafa Yuste.
“We are halfway to creating a great Barça. It surprises me that at the first bump, people want to get off the boat. We have to all be united. The media [in Barcelona] are not.
“This lack of union in tough moments surprises me. Alarm bells always ring here when things don’t go well, but we are halfway through the season. We don’t learn. Last October it was the same and we had a good season.
“I don’t understand it. I understand when we lose something. If we had [been] eliminated in the Champions League … I understood last season the noise, but not now.
“Now we are qualified for the next round [of the Champions League], which was the first goal this season. We are in the race in LaLiga. We need more points and to improve and we must be self critical, of course, but we are in the race.”
Xavi had complained after the midweek defeat to Antwerp that an “unnecessary tension” had been created by the media following Barça’s decision to change the squad for the game.
Robert Lewandowski, Ronald Araújo and Ilkay Gündogan were all initially left out but later added to the travelling party, with local media reporting Laporta had imposed the decision on Xavi.
The Barça boss insisted it was a joint decision and says that what is needed more than ever right now, especially after losing Lionel Messi in 2021 and with the club’s financial problems, is stability.
“A few months ago you [the media] said I was Barça’s [Sir Alex] Ferguson and now I’m out on the street?” he added.
“Stability. All winning projects have had stability when there have been bumps. We need stability. We have a winning project. We are champions of LaLiga and the Super Cup.
“Football has no memory, we know that, but we should remember. The players and the club made a huge effort last season; now we need stability.
“If we draw or lose in Valencia this weekend, we need to believe in the project because we need stability. That is even more true now in the post-Messi era and with the complicated financial situation at the club.”