Barcelona announced the return of Xavi Hernandez as the new first-team manager on Friday. As per Catalunya Radio, president Joan Laporta is willing to buy three players in January to help the new coach shape the team in his image.
The new boss is in; Barcelona announced on Friday the return of Xavi in a managerial capacity after agreeing to pay for his release to Al Sadd. The former Barcelona player, however, has a mammoth task ahead of him with the team currently languishing ninth in the league table.
Furthermore, he will have to do so without the help of ex-teammate Lionel Messi, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain in August. Nonetheless, reports indicate that help might arrive in the form of new signings in the winter.
As per Catalunya Radio, Barcelona president Joan Laporta is looking to sign three new players in the upcoming winter transfer window. However, the club will have to offload some of its players first to comply with financial regulations.
Laporta reportedly announced the same to journalists ahead of Barcelona’s LaLiga clash with Celta Vigo, while also revealing that the club is working to bring in a player of Ballon d’Or-winning potential.
Barcelona’s restructuring in a post-Messi world hasn’t gone to plan so far. Laporta replaced the outgoing Argentinian with several new faces in the summer – most of whom were brought in on free transfers.
Among those who came in, only Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia have broken into the first team. Meanwhile, Luuk De Jong has remained on the periphery, Sergio Aguero has missed large parts of the season due to injury troubles, and Emerson Royal has already been shipped off to Tottenham Hotspur.
The biggest change of the season – so far – for Barcelona took place in the managerial position, where Ronald Koeman was replaced by Xavi. Laporta sacked the Dutchman on October 28 following a poor start to the season and paid Al Sadd a compensation fee to release and later appoint Xavi.
