With just over a fortnight to go until Barcelona’s members elect their new president, Victor Font, one of the candidates, has put the cat amongst the pigeons.
It’s thought that the presidency will end up being a straight fight between Font and former president, Joan Laporta, but the news that Xavi will definitely be involved in Font’s project, were he elected, might tip the balance in his favour.
Supporters appear to have been crying out for Barcelona to get back to the way of playing when Xavi was in his pomp at the club, and bringing him back ‘home’ is bound to find favour with the voters.
“As of the 25th (the day after the elections), he (Xavi) will begin to supervise the entire football project and once the season in Qatar is over in April he will join the club,” Font explained to MARCA, cited by Football Espana.
“Xavi’s dream is to coach. We want Xavi to be the person in charge of the football structure.
“That is, he will have enough power to make the most important decisions.
“And being clear that his dream is to be a coach, as soon as the club needs him in that position, he will be.”
The burning issue, away from which personalities may or may not be involved is who can be relied upon to do the job well enough to get Barca back to where they belong.
Josep Maria Bartomeu has ruined almost every aspect of the club, and it will take some years to restore any semblance of harmony, financially or otherwise.
Laporta has the edge having been in the role before and therefore knows what to expect. He also has a great relationship with Lionel Messi.
However, members had the chance to elect him in 2015 and chose Bartomeu. Font has a workable plan but isn’t as conservative as many members might like and this could be an issue for him on election day.