Barca chief Laporta already trying to convince Xavi to stay

Barcelona have changed a lot since the defeat against Villarreal at the end of January. That disappointment fell like a slab on the institution, in which all the pressure descended on the figure of Xavi Hernandez. The coach, in a press conference, announced that his decision was to leave the team at the end of the season. The thing is that, since then, his team has been on an unbeaten run that has completely changed the sensations.

With the quarter-finals of the Champions League just around the corner and the fans hooked on the few remaining options to fight for the League, the newspaper 'Sport' has on its front page this Friday that Joan Laporta is already trying to convince him to stay. The president sees him as a key part of his long-term sporting project, so he will talk to him after the 'Clasico' on 21st April to discuss his continuity.

As he is under contract until the summer of next year, no new deal would be necessary, only to make sure that the tactician is happy to give up his determination to move on after 30 June. If, in any case, he does so, his name is being bandied about in the Ajax offices, although the Catalan press expects him to take a sabbatical year once he leaves, if he does leave, the Catalan giants.

Given how Barcelona's feelings have changed so easily over the course of the season, what happens in Europe is key to gauging Xavi Hernandez's decision and the dressing room's desire for him to stay. In a scenario of reaching the semi-finals and victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, it is difficult not to think that the whole 'Cules' environment will want him to stay.