Serie A manager’s agent denies offering him to Barcelona as Xavi replacement | OneFootball

On Sunday morning, reports emerged claiming that Barcelona had been offered the services of Bologna manager Thiago Motta.

With the future of Xavi Hernandez no longer certain, a new hunt for a manager is underway and Motta, a former Barça player, is understood to be on the radars, following his good work at Bologna.

As such, it was suggested that the former Italian international, who is also a managerial target for Juventus, had been offered to the Catalan giants.

Motta’s agent denies rumours

However, as per Toni Juanmarti of SPORT, Alessandro Canovi, the agent of Thiago Motta, has denied contacting anyone from Barcelona to offer the Italian tactician to the club.

The coach’s representative assures that no one authorised to speak on Motta’s behalf has offered his services to Barcelona.

Motta is on Barcelona’s radar. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Motta’s entourage stress that it is far from his style to offer himself to clubs when they have a different manager at the helm.

One of the reasons behind it is that the former Barça player has great respect for Xavi and for the work he is doing at the helm of the Catalan team.

For now, Motta’s total focus is on finishing the season strongly with Bologna, whom he has taken to third place in Serie A, with a place in the next season’s UEFA Champions League assured.

As for Barcelona, apart from Motta, names like Hansi Flick, Rafa Marquez, Sergio Conceicao, and Thomas Tuchel are all being linked again with the job.

Marcelo Gallardo, who is set to leave Al Ittihad imminently, is also well liked at the Catalan club.