Why Barça legend Xavi turned down Borussia Dortmund | OneFootball

Nuri Şahin (37) left, Niko Kovač (53) came. In January 2025, the long-time BVB professional lost his job as head coach. A few days later, Kovač was confirmed as his successor. However, the Borussia Dortmund officials had their eyes on a completely different candidate: Barça icon Xavi (45).

In the 2022/23 season, Xavi led FC Barcelona to the championship in La Liga and success in the Supercopa. The Catalans distanced their arch-rival Real Madrid by ten points. At the end of the following season, in which Blaugrana became vice-champion, the former midfield director left the club. Hansi Flick (60) took over and led the club to a national triple in 2025, winning the championship, cup, and supercup.

Bild journalist Christian Falk writes in his book "Transfer Insider: The Secrets Behind the Million Deals" about Dortmund's interest in Xavi. Especially sports director Lars Ricken (49) was enthusiastic about the idea. There were even discussions through an agency where the Catalan informed himself about long-term goals, squad planning, and new signings. The Barça legend (767 official matches) planned to rebuild the team according to his own ideas and did not want to take over a finished team. Much pointed to Xavi as the new head coach of BVB.

Successful with Kovač

But things turned out differently. Suddenly, the Westphalians received a rejection from the world and European champion. However, Xavi did not cite sporting reasons for his refusal. The successful coach had promised his family to start his work in Dortmund only in the new season. But this did not meet with approval from the Borussia officials, as they were looking for an immediate successor to Şahin.

After a three-game intermezzo with U19 coach Mike Tullberg (39), the Black and Yellows famously signed Kovač. A good choice, as it turned out. The native Berliner led the club from the midfield to the Champions League.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.