Xavi to Leave Barcelona After Season; Currently 3rd in La Liga, 10 Points Behind Real

Barcelona will be looking for a new head coach ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Xavi Hernández announced Saturday that he will leave his position as head coach of the Spanish club following the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign.

"I have decided I will not continue beyond June 30," Xavi said, according to The Athletic's Colin Miller and Pol Ballús. "It is a common sense decision for the good of the club."

Xavi's announcement comes on the heels of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal at Camp Nou that leaves Barcelona 10 points behind fellow La Liga giant Real Madrid and eight points behind second-place Girona.

It has been a particularly difficult month for Xavi and Barcelona, which fell 4-1 to Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa final on Jan. 14 and 4-2 to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Jan. 24.

Barcelona named Xavi the permanent successor to Ronald Koeman in November 2021 and he helped lead the club to a league title for the first time since 2019 and the Spanish Supercopa title in his first full season at the helm in 2022-23.

However, Barça was eliminated from the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League in the group stage for the second straight season and also struggled in a Round of 32 exit from the Europa League.

Barcelona is through to the round of 16 in the Champions League this year and will face Napoli in the first leg next month. However, the club barely reached the knockout stages after struggling in the group stage, posting losses to Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk.

With a talented roster that includes Jules Kounde, Gavi, Pedri, Ilkay Gündogan, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and João Felix, Barcelona's performance this season has been roundly panned by supporters.

It's unclear who might succeed Xavi, who spent his entire playing career with the Catalan club from 1997-2015.