Xavi on Milan Radar but not for the Ongoing Season | OneFootball

Milan would gladly avoid changing their coach mid-season and are hoping the squad will rally around Paulo Fonseca in Friday’s game against Hellas Verona, as they have done a few times when the Portuguese gaffer seemed in peril.

According to El Nacional (via Mediaset), the Rossoneri have reached out to Xavi to inquire about his availability. He joins the list of possible replacements along with Roberto Mancini, while Maurizio Sarri and Massimiliano Allegri are less likely.

Per Tuttomercatoweb, Milan surely appreciate the former Barcelona boss, but he’s not keen on taking over a team this campaign. He’d rather complete his sabbatical and return to the bench next summer. He turned down Manchester United, which courted him before and after firing Erik Ten Hag. They eventually poached Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP.

The Rossoneri would likely have to wait a few months if they really wanted to appoint Xavi. They wouldn’t need many intermediaries to negotiate with him since he and Zlatan Ibrahimovic played together in 2009/2010. He was fired in May after failing to take home a trophy in his second season at the helm. Instead, he had won La Liga in 2022/2023.

Our Take on Milan

The noise was a lot louder in previous instances, and it looks like Fonseca will stick it out unless something disastrous occurs against Verona, which probably won’t. Xavi would somewhat fit their style, but going with a foreign manager who’s not familiar with the league and not super experienced would be a big risk, also in light of their questionable brass.