New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Xavi Hernández’s relationship with his beloved club F.C Barcelona is at a very sensitive stage as the Spanish manager has publicly stated his intentions of staying at the club. This statement stems from reports that floated around social media last night saying that the president of F.C Barcelona, Joan Laporte was unhappy with Xavi’s comments regarding the club's financial situation and was unsure of his presence at the club.

“The club is sharing confidence with me, they did not tell me anything else. The president, Deco, sent me clear, all positive messages to be strong together. I don’t care about the rumours, I care about the Barca board and so nothing has changed in their words. We have a project and we keep going with our plan.

This squad has extraordinary quality… so we’ll try to win titles next season and our project remains clear, I have zero doubts. I’m hungry, I’m confident, proud to be in the club of my life, and really, I’m happy to compete at the best level for next season. That’s it. I feel good, I’m happy, it’s great to be Barca manager as it’s the best club in the world — the plan is clear,” said Xavi in a public announcement during a press conference.

Xavi and Barcelona had previously announced their intentions to part ways at the end of the season but later reversed the decision as his players convinced the 44-year-old that they were a “winning team.”

Xavi joined FC Barcelona in November 2021 and guided his former team to a league title in his first full season at the helm. This season however has been a different story, the team is currently in a battle to secure second place in the league and is miles away in terms of quality from their Spanish rivals, Real Madrid.

The Catalonian team was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the Round of 16 after losing 1-4 at home to PSG despite securing a 2-3 victory in Paris which accumulated to a 4-6 loss on aggregate.

It will be interesting to see if the rumors regarding Laporta and Xavi have any merit in the coming days.