Slowly but surely Barcelona are getting back to the team that everyone knows they can be.
Two 5-0 wins in succession during the past week has got everyone sitting up and taking notice of the Catalans again, and with Joan Laporta and his board doing their level best to get things back on an even keel off the pitch, there are good reasons for everyone connected with the club to feel optimistic again.
It’s been over two years since Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned from the presidential position at the club before he was voted out by the club’s socio members, but his shadow still hangs over the club by virtue of their financial position which, though not as perilous as it once was, is still causing problems.
One member of staff that has had to work under the auspices of Financial Fair Play, which has bitten harder than usual because of Bartomeu’s wheeler dealing, is manager and former legendary player, Xavi.
There have been recent signs that he’s really getting his side to click now, and Fabrizio Romano believes Barcelona have made the right decision in handing him a new deal.
‘Xavi’s new deal until 2025 has been announced, but honestly it was already agreed in March/April and announced now because of the Financial Fair Play situation and Barça’s focus on the transfer market in the last couple of months,’ he wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.
‘This is excellent news because Xavi is doing very well and both the club and the coach always wanted to continue together, so this new deal was never in doubt. For sure, Xavi is absolutely crucial for Barça.’
With Real Madrid the only team with a perfect record in La Liga at present, Xavi has it all to do in order to keep Barca on Los Blancos’ coat-tails, and El Clasico on October 28 is already looking like a mouth-watering prospect.