Before Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona decided to U-turn on his decision to leave the club, there were two candidates that stood out to take over from him, albeit because of their availability, Barca Atletic coach Rafael Marquez and former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick.
The week prior to Xavi’s ‘re-appointment’, Marquez was strongly touted as the candidate to take over from his ex-teammate. Yet in the aftermath of Xavi’s decision, there was plenty said about a lack of consensus on him continuing from within Barcelona’s board. Equally, Laporta and Barcelona were seemingly due to meet with Flick in the subsequent days to discuss his candidacy.
🚨 President Laporta is FURIOUS. He was heard screaming: 'IT CAN'T BE LIKE THIS'. @Jordigil pic.twitter.com/crPCm3YTL9
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 4, 2024
Agent Pini Zahavi, who holds a strong relationship with Laporta, pushed hard for Flick to be the one to take over from Xavi, and ultimately did not get his wish. Matteo Moretto has told Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing that Flick was never particularly close to getting the job though, as not all at Barcelona were convinced he had the right characteristics from the job.
As has been seen, Laporta ultimately calls the shots, and had Flick convinced him, then perhaps he would have stood a chance. Any frustration on Zahavi’s part towards Laporta would have been understandable, given he had spent so much time just trying to get him in the room.
