Xavi ‘is under pressure at Barcelona with NONE of their boardroom chiefs backing him’ and sporting director Deco publicly placing the blame for problems with a U-turn on players on his old team-mate

Barcelona boss Xavi is reportedly facing heat at the Camp Nou after punishing him for two consecutive defeats, with no club chief backing the Spaniard.

The Catalan giants are trying their best to shine this season as they look to retain their La Liga crown. They are currently in fourth place, seven points behind league leaders Girona, whom they were stunned by a 4-2 home defeat on Sunday.

And after another Champions League defeat, when he lost 3-2 to Belgian side Royal Antwerp on Wednesday, Xavi is now facing “maximum pressure” and, according to the Spanish publication, he has not been supported by any of the club’s six board members . HOW.

They include President Joan Laporta, Deco, Rafael Yuste, Joan Soler, Enric Masip and Boyan.

With the trip to Valencia looming, Xavi now knows another defeat would leave him in a “very weak position”, the report adds, noting Ronald Koeman was sacked in 2021 for trailing Real Madrid’s lead. by just six points.

Barcelona coach Xavi is under pressure on his position after defeat to Antwerp, media claim

The Spaniard does not have the support of any of the club’s board members, including president Joan Laporta (left) and former teammate Deco (right).

He adds that the shock defeat to Girona “did a lot of damage” and “fed distrust in the team.” AS went on to say that Xavi is now “more alone” and “needs to show authority” after the latest defeat to Antwerp, otherwise he will “find himself in the abyss sooner than many thought.”

The signs look ominous for Xavi, whose former teammate Deco, now sporting director, played coy when asked about last-minute squad changes, saying the decisions rest with the coach.

It was initially announced that Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Ronald Araujo would not travel to Belgium, with places in the knockout stages already guaranteed.

But it later emerged that all three had been added to the traveling party amid rumors that President Laporta had insisted on their inclusion.

“It was decided that everyone will go, but whether Lewandowski will play depends on the coach,” Deco said. “The calls are at the discretion of the coach, but nothing has been agreed upon with him.”

Barcelona have suffered back-to-back crushing defeats, recently losing 4-2 at home to Girona.

Xavi now knows if his side lose to Valencia this weekend he will be in a “very weak position”.

After the game, Xavi admitted that he was “worried” by the team’s poor form, saying the entire team needed to be “critical” of themselves.

“Yes, I’m worried,” he said. ‘This is fine.’

“The team feels uncomfortable. We had a string of negative results. We must be critical. The opposition creates many chances against us and it costs us too much. The positive thing is that we are in the 1/8 finals.

“We’ll be in the draw on Monday to top the group, so we have to congratulate the team for doing their homework. However, we need to get back to good football.”