Reports of Mikel Arteta gearing up to leave Arsenal following the soon-to-be vacant Barcelona manager role are false, sources claim.
Xavi Hernandez’s announcement of his exit from Barcelona has shocked the world. Like Jürgen Klopp before him a day earlier, the Spanish tactician claims fatigue on all levels as the reason for his decision to exit what he often described as “the club of my life”.
“I will leave Barcelona in June,” the former Barcelona captain said on Saturday at his post-match press conference following a 5-3 home loss to Villarreal in LaLiga. “We have reached a point of no return. It’s time for change. As a Culé, I think that it’s time to leave. I spoke with the board and the club today. I will leave on the 30th of June.
“I took this decision days ago. I already knew it. But it’s time to make it public. I think the players could not free themselves up. I don’t want to be a problem for the club, but the opposite.”
Several names have been put forward by the media as the 44-year-old’s replacement including Klopp, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. Other names are Brighton and Hove Albion’s Roberto De Zerbi, Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Girona’s Michel Sanchez and Arteta.
According to past reports, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has always liked Arteta’s coaching style. His past affiliation to Barcelona and recent association with Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s greatest manager of the modern era, also made him a good candidate in the eyes of the media and fans.
This led to rumours of the 41-year-old preparing to leave Arsenal for the Barcelona role in the summer, which have now been washed by sources close to the manager and the club as a whole.
The rumours were propagated by Catalan newspaper Sport.
Arteta took over Arsenal in 2019 and has a running contract until 2025. He has also helped Arsenal to three trophies in that time: one FA Cup and two Community Shields. However, all that is not about to end because Barcelona will have a vacancy in a few months.
While Barcelona is thinking about Xavi’s replacement, Marc Crosas, a graduate of their famed La Masia academy has told his boyhood team not to consider Klopp as Xavi’s replacement.
Crosas posted his thoughts on the social media platform, X. His post reads: “Today they praise Klopp and ask him for Barcelona. In 9 years, Klopp has won a Premier League and a Champions League (plus national cups), with 6 trophyless seasons.
“In his first 3 seasons he didn’t win anything. Xavi has been there for just over 2 years and is the La Liga champion.”
There is still a long way to go. In the meantime, Xavi is still in the League title race and can also take Barcelona all the way to the UEFA Champions League.
