Champions League winner who lost Xavi's protection and will fired from Barcelona

The 5-2 defeat against Villarreal was a hard blow for Barcelona. They needed a win to get closer to Real Madrid and Girona, the leaders of La Liga standings, who beate Las Palmas and Celta, respectively. But the Yellow Submarine's three late goals in Montjuic prevented them from getting the three points and caused chaos on the Catalan side.

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At the post-match press conference, Xavi Hernandez shocked everyone by revealing that he had taken the decision to step down as the team's coach at the end of the 2023/24 season. Poor performances and disappointing results in recent months had caused harsh criticism and now, with almost no chance of challenging for the Spanish league title, it could only get worse.

This immediately sparked rumors about Xavi's possible replacements. While some point to inexperienced coaches such as Rafael Marquez and Thiago Motta, others mention stars such as Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta, Hansy Flick and Julian Nagelsmann. At the same time, reports indicate that the players' favorite is Luis Enrique, who has already coached several of them at Barcelona and in the Spanish national team.

While all this is going on, the future of some of the squad's players is also being decided. And Xavi's departure could be key in this matter. According to the newspaper AS, one of the Spanish coach's protégés was Sergi Roberto. They were teammates for years and Xavi considers him an important player for the team. In fact, he is one of the captains. But once the manager leaves, the chiefs will probably make a different decision with him.

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What will happen with him?

Sergi Roberto has a contract with Barcelona until June 30 this year. But so far he has not received any offer to renew and that is unlikely to happen in the future. In that case, he will end his 14-year career at the club and will have to look for a new destination. Rumors link him with Inter Miami, where several of his former teammates such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are playing.