Xavi in dramatic sack claim amid Barcelona struggles but makes firm promise to Camp Nou fans

Barcelona manager Xavi admits he will be sacked and replaced by a new coach if their massive summer spend does not bring trophies this season.

The Catalan giants embarked on a huge summer spend, despite their financial issues, with Xavi afforded £150million on a plethora of new arrivals the Camp Nou.

Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Franck Kessie and Hector Bellerin all arrived to lift expectations at the club.

However, things have not exactly gone to plan.

Barca have lost two of their four Champions League groups stage outings and are close to being eliminated, while Sunday’s heavy El Clasico loss to Real Madrid leaves them three points behind their bitter rivals in LaLiga.

The pressure is said to be mounting on Xavi to deliver a trophy this season. And the club legend is fully aware of what will happen if he does not deliver.

Speaking ahead of Thursday night’s clash with Villarreal, he said: “With the effort made by the club and the squad we have, we have to compete for trophies.

“And if we don’t win, as the president said, there will be consequences, starting with me.

“If we don’t win, another coach will come in. But I am going to give everything so that this works.”

Barca season by no means over

Despite his concerns, Barcelona are still only three points adrift of Real in the title race.

However, Champions League progress looks incredibly slim. If Inter best Viktoria Plzen in an earlier kick-off next Wednesday, by the time Barca line up against Bayern Munich at 8pm they will already be out of the competition.

Xavi added: “The team’s situation is what it is. We started like a shot and now we’re not so good.

“This doesn’t stop me. We have to go step by step. We are three points behind the [LaLiga] leader and we have to continue.

“This is too long and we can’t stop. The road from success to defeat is so small.”

Following Thursday’s clash with Villarreal, Barca host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday before their huge clash with Bayern next week.

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