Things are looking gloomy for Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez as a recent report from ESPN claims that the Spanish tactician is slowly losing his dressing room amid the club's recent slump.
The reigning Spanish champions are currently fourth in La Liga following a rough first half of the season. The Blaugrana are eight points behind current leaders Girona, who have played a game extra, and have lost to the fellow Catalan outfit earlier this campaign.
Additionally, Lewandowski and Co. have locked horns with bitter rivals Real Madrid twice already and have lost on both occasions. The most recent encounter occurred on Sunday with Xavi's men facing Los Blancos in the Supercopa de Espana final in Riyadh, suffering an embarrassing 4-1 defeat following a historic hat-trick from Vinicius Junior.
That loss raised further questions surrounding Xavi's future and that was the backdrop to this recent report. According to ESPN, certain players are beginning to question the manager's approach and have been annoyed with the Spaniard's inability to adapt their style of play.
Xavi is thus fighting to maintain their support. However, it should be pointed out that the entire dressing room has not lost faith in the manager but rather a section. This point was stressed by a source who claims that a few players believe Xavi has not been tough on certain figures within the dressing room.
However, Xavi's stance is that while it is normal for a handful of players to be unhappy in a 20-player squad, he continues to boast the support of the dressing room. Furthermore, while the 43-year-old understands the frustration with the results so far, he has been happy with his players and their attitude.
The 4-1 loss to Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia might have been the final nail in the coffin for some fans but this reported issue predates that frustrating result. While Ilkay Gundogan was not named in the ESPN piece, one should recall his post-match interview following their 2-1 Clasico defeat in La Liga in which the treble winner openly questioned the dressing room.
Furthermore, while Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco have publicly reiterated their support for Xavi, pointing to his recent contract that runs until 2025, things are different behind the scenes.
ESPN claims that there are doubts surrounding the manager's future beyond this season. However, the club's FFP issues plus the lack of genuine options make replacing the iconic midfielder tricky.
