Xavi could be set to become Barcelona manager from the beginning of next season, with a report in Spain claiming he's already agreed to take over from Quique Setien.
Things at Barcelona are not in a good place right now, having recently lost top spot in La Liga to their rivals Real Madrid, and on Thursday night it was reported that Lionel Messi was ready to leave the club after next season.
However the club may already be taking steps to try and keep the forward, according to Mundo Deportivo journalist Francesc Aguilar, Xavi has agreed to take over the club next season.
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The tweets from Aguilar say the former Barca midfielder doesn't want to take over until after the Champions League in August but there is an agreement in principle.
Part of the reports yesterday about Messi's potential departure centred on the lack of a successful project on the pitch and some claimed the Argentine wanted either Xavi or Ronald Koeman as the next manager.
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Seeing his former teammate, and the man who helped assist him on a lot of occasions, become the new boss could help persuade the club's all time top scorer to stay beyond next summer.
As recently as a couple of weeks ago the former Spain midfielder was talking up the possibility of returning to the Nou Camp. "The biggest hope I have now is to be Barca coach and get Barca back to winning ways," the Al-Sadd manager told SPORT.
"Not me but these players and Barca triumphing. And as a consequence, our technical staff, who are preparing for it a lot and it makes us really excited
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"I'm a club man. I would like to return at the right moment to start a project from zero.
"I've said it a lot of times but I want to take footballing decisions at Barcelona."
He could soon be making those decisions.
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