Barcelona: Two main candidates to replace Xavi revealed

The Catalans have started to look for a new manager ahead of Xavi’s departure at the end of the campaign.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco have two different favourite candidates to replace Xavi Hernandez.

Following a 5-3 defeat against Villarreal last week, Xavi announced his decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the season. Already facing a number of personnel issues and financial struggles, Barcelona have started their search for a new manager. But it seems the club’s hierarchy lacks a unanimous consensus over their top target for the job.

According to AS, former Bayern Munich and Germany manager Hansi Flick is Laporta’s favourite choice to replace Xavi. Deco, on the other hand, believes that Porto coach Sergio Conceicao is the ideal candidate for the managerial role at Camp Nou.

Barcelona still have a few months to decide on their next coach. But the prospect of another hectic transfer window in the summer has seemingly convinced the Spanish giants to create a short-list of their main candidates.

In addition to Flick and Conceicao, Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Jurgen Klopp, and Michel are also linked with the managerial role at Barcelona. Laporta has, however, ruled out the idea of promoting youth manager Rafael Márquez to the senior team.