Xavi Hernandez reveals he tried to re-sign Lionel Messi and Neymar Junior as Barcelona manager | OneFootball

Over the last few months, Xavi Hernandez has started to lift the lid on his two-year spell as head coach of Barcelona. The 46-year-old steadied the ship upon arriving in November 2021, although his exit in the summer of 2024 generated a lot of reaction, especially from himself.

The matter was discussed during Xavi’s interview with Brazilian football icon Romario. As per MD, he spoke with pride on his managerial spell, while also admitting that being head coach was much more difficult than being a player at Barcelona.

“I’m very proud, the club was in the worst moment in its history. We managed to get the team to compete and won two titles. We left a legacy of young players who are now the backbone of this team.

“Managing was much more difficult than playing. I felt that I was going to continue, so we agreed with Laporta, but there was a personal issue with a person at the club who didn’t let us continue. We laid a good foundation that now Flick, with his good work, takes advantage of. I demanded a lot from Laporta when I joined, after winning the league my demand dropped and that can’t happen to me again. My first message was that I was there to help them, not because of my ego.”

Xavi: I tried to sign Messi, Neymar and Pedro

Xavi has previously claimed that he tried to push Barcelona to re-sign Lionel Messi in the summer of 2023 when his Paris Saint-Germain, and he’s now admitted that he also wanted to bring in two more former teammates in Neymar Junior and Pedro Rodriguez.

“I managed to bring back Dani Alves and I tried to bring back Neymar, Pedro and Messi when I was coach. Pedro and Neymar could not be brought back because of the economic situation and Messi because Laporta did not want to. With Neymar there was an opportunity, but it did not happen either. It did not happen because of our very difficult economic situation. Financial fair play was severely limiting us, and the famous salaries.”