Five FC Barcelona players are upset with under fire head coach Xavi Hernandez according to Mundo ... [+]
At least five FC Barcelona players are upset with under fire head coach Xavi Hernandez according to Mundo Deportivo, which cited anonymous sources.
Xavi originally announced he would step down from his role on June 30, at a late January press conference.
Then in April, he performed a U-turn on that decision and agreed to see out his contract which expires on the same date in 2025 despite Barca effectively surrendering its La Liga crown to Real Madrid following a loss in El Clasico and being KO'd from the Champions League quarterfinals just days before.
Less than three weeks later, however, Xavi is again under fire thanks to negative comments he made about Barca's economic situation and how it effects being able to compete with Los Blancos.
RAC1 reported that he will be dismissed in the coming days, but Xavi stressed he is "not interested" in the information or where it has come from at his prematch press conference ahead of a clash with Villarreal on Sunday.
Hours before he said this on Saturday afternoon, however, Mundo Deportivo revealed how at least five Barca players are unhappy with Xavi.
The first one is Robert Lewandowski, who has been substituted four times in his last five outings while Raphinha still doesn't like being brought off despite his reactions to this improving compared to last season.
Also on the front line, Vitor Roque has been frozen out of the fold and picked up his first minutes in a month this week away at Almeria.
Joao Felix similarly isn't comfortable with how often he warms the bench, and Ronald Araujo has had disagreements with his coach on whether he is fit to play amid knee discomfort that saw him dropped from the last two matches.
Asked about his relationship with the players at the same press conference, Xavi said he always tries "to convey total peace of mind" to them.
"I've told the players that I'm proud to be at Barca. There's a lot of noise outside. These things happen. But the players are fine, committed and eager to win tomorrow," he insisted.
