Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste reveals he is trying to ‘convince’ Xavi to reverse his decision to leave this summer… as he insists the club are still ‘thinking of a long-term project led by him’

Barcelona’s desperation to extend Xavi’s stay beyond the end of the season has intensified again when the club’s vice president called for the coach to stay at the Camp Nou.

Xavi shocked Barcelona and the rest of European football when he announced in late January, after a 5-3 home defeat to Villarreal, that he would be stepping down from his managerial position.

The 44-year-old has enjoyed an improvement in results since then, with Barcelona now second in the La Liga standings, just five points behind leaders Real Madrid and also securing their place in the La Liga quarter-finals. of Champions.

Xavi enjoys club legend status at Barcelona after an impressive playing career that ended with eight LaLiga and four Champions League titles, along with other major honors for both club and country.

The Spaniard has so far refused to reverse his exit stance despite requests from the club’s board and vice-president Rafa Yuste, who are determined to force a U-turn decision.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Yuste is one of Xavi’s biggest supporters within the confines of Barcelona and explained that he, along with others, is “trying to convince Xavi to continue.”

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Las Palmas, Yuste said: “Xavi knows what we want. It’s a personal decision for him, what I’m going to do to the extent I can is try to convince him to continue.

“I think we have to let him enjoy, there is still a lot left in the League and also in the Champions League, but he is a coach who comes from La Masia and I hope and wish that he continues.

And he added: “We are thinking about a long-term project led by him and we have a team to do great things in the future.” We’re not talking about one or two seasons.

Barcelona’s attempts to convince Xavi to stay at the club have so far failed and the former player remains adamant that he will leave no matter what happens between now and the end of the season.

Xavi announced at the time of making his decision that he would leave even if Barcelona went against all odds and won the Champions League this season.

He successfully led the Catalan club to the Spanish top-flight title last year, but cited the “cruel” nature of the club’s management as one of the reasons for wanting to leave.

Previously explaining his decision, Xavi said in January: “The feeling of being Barca coach is cruel, unpleasant and unpleasant.

‘There is a lot of disrespect and it affects you, until it leads to a decision like this.’