Joan Laporta still trusts Xavi as the ‘leader’ of Barcelona’s project – report

Barcelona are going through an uncertain period at the moment, even after a 3-3 defeat to Inter Milan that might have been enough to seal their exit from the group stages, for the second consecutive season.

In the aftermath of the defeat, there was confusion and anxiety around the Barcelona camp, with club president Joan Laporta reportedly furious at Xavi Hernandez. Many had even questioned the Barcelona coach’s future at the club.

However, according to a report from Diario SPORT, Joan Laporta maintains faith in Xavi and considers him the leader of the Barcelona project, at least for the time being.

The club president, though, expects the Spaniard to make the right decisions, especially when it comes to team selections. Given that there is yet another crucial game coming up this weekend, Laporta will be keeping his eye on Xavi.

Shortly after the game against Inter Milan, Laporta had gone down to the dressing to talk with Xavi and his coaching assistants, to demand the reasons for the club’s failure to win.

There is a possibility that Barcelona’s draw with Inter Milan, which will have serious financial repercussions, could lead to a more stringent mode of management, especially when it comes to the older, experienced players.

Laporta had already singled out the likes of Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique during the Assembly earlier this month, for their refusal to reduce wages. Their subsequent mistakes against Inter Milan could further raise the animosity between them and the board.

The general feeling around the Barcelona camp is that this is not the right time to do experiments with the squad. Instead, Xavi should find alternatives for the ageing players from the same squad, especially with the likes of Frenkie de Jong more than willing to step in.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how Xavi picks his starting eleven when Barcelona take on arch-rivals Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.