Xavi Hernández announced yesterday after the embarrassing home defeat against Villarreal that he will leave the club on June 30. He did so at the post-match press conference at the Estadi Olímpic, where he explained his decision to the press and acknowledged that he had not spoken to the players. The Terrassa coach argued that the squad was very affected by the defeat and that is why he did not want to talk to them about his departure.
The players found out about their decision through the media and Gavi did not hesitate to send a strong message of support to his coach through social networks. On Instagram, the Blaugrana player published a photo of himself with Xavi with the message: “Always to death with you, mister.”
He was the only one who spoke publicly after the bombing, but there were many players who publicly showed their support for Xavi right after the game. Several players paraded in the Monjutïc mixed zone and supported the coach seamlessly. Among them, Joao Cancelo. “The coach wanted me here from day one, we spoke in preseason when he was at City. As a player he was spectacular and as a coach he is too. On a human and sporting level he is a very good guy and I think we are all with him. “We are in the same boat although this year things are not going the way we want,” he stated.
Frenkie de Jong also did it on the grass, seconds after the referee whistled the end of the game. “There is total confidence in the coach. The coaching staff is doing a very good job. It’s our fault, the players’ fault. “We have all the conditions and if it doesn’t work out it’s our fault.”
Ronald Araújo did the same. “We are with the coach. Since he arrived he has helped us a lot. To me personally, to the team. We were champions last year when we came from nothing. We won two titles playing well. The coach, when he arrived, took charge of a team that was sunk, that had lost its philosophy, that did not come from behind playing the ball… He arrived and gave us back our identity, our desire, what it means to represent this shirt. We are all with the coach, we trust him.”