Bologna head coach Thiago Motta has late on Saturday spoken out regarding the possibility of replacing Xavi Hernández at Barcelona this summer.
The subject of the hotseat at Barcelona has of course reemerged as a major talking point across the evening to date.
This comes after the aforementioned Xavi announced his intention to step down upon the campaign coming to a close.
Speaking in a press conference after watching his side put to the sword by five goals to three at the hands of Villarreal, the Spaniard, as cited by Barcelona’s official X account, confirmed:
“I want to announce that on June 30 I will no longer continue as the coach at Barça. I think the situation needs to change course, and as a culer, I cannot allow the current situation.”
Attentions, in turn, have since quickly turned to the subject of just who could be in line to replace Xavi in Catalunya’s capital with a view to next season.
Recent months have seen a whole host of tacticians tipped for the post, from Mikel Arteta to Rafael Márquez to, over the last 24 hours, Jürgen Klopp.
And, as alluded to above, late on Saturday night, another manager frequently linked with the manager’s job at Barcelona of late has spoken out.
After guiding his side to an impressive share of the spoils at San Siro against Milan, Thiago Motta was asked if he would be interested in replacing Xavi in the summer.
The Bologna boss, though, was keen to play the subject down, albeit whilst failing to completely rule out the possibility.
“I heard of Xavi leaving Barça, yes — they told me this news some minutes ago,” Motta began, as cited by Fabrizio Romano.
”Barça links for the future? I live in the present. I’m enjoying my time at Bologna, I’m only focused on the present”.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1751369084652892268
Conor Laird | GIFN
