Barcelona boss Joan Laporta told journalists that managerial candidate is ‘ready’ to replace Xavi Hernandez

Barcelona are currently on the hunt for their next manager, but one of the things that has become clearer amongst the multitude of options that have been linked to the job, is that there is no clear choice to replace Xavi Hernandez. Barca Atletic coach Rafael Marquez at one point appeared to be in good stead for the role, but that no longer appears to be the case.

Marquez had been suggested as the interim manager of choice until the end of the season before Xavi’s resignation, had it been necessary, with a chance of him taking over permanently. He is certainly the cheapest option, and may still end up with the job.

The Mexican legend admitted that he would not be able to say no to the opportunity, and internally, those comments did not sit well with the club, who thought the comments were naive and poorly timed.

Cadena SER say that Marquez has been losing weight as an option for several weeks though. According to their information, President Joan Laporta had said in December in a room with journalists that Marquez was ‘ready to take over from Xavi’ if necessary. However that feeling has changed since, and they no longer see him as a top option for the job.

Marquez replaced Sergi Barjuan last summer, and has Barca Atletic sixth in their Primera RFEF group, despite plenty of player turnover and the first team using many of his best players. That said, he has little experience in management, and perhaps his comments over the weekend show that he would need to be able to handle the media better, something Xavi has struggled with.