When Deco started sounding like a potential candidate to replace then Director of Football Mateu Alemany, many wondered about the relationship between Barcelona's Sporting Director and manager Xavi Hernandez. Less than a year down the line, it didn't go well.
Ultimately, Xavi leaves because of the results on the field, but in a recent piece by Guillem Balague explaining the sum of the reasons that inspired his resignation, Deco is included. There were strong suggestions that at the time Deco left the club as a player, he and Xavi did not see eye to eye, and when Pep Guardiola arrived, he made the departure of Deco and Ronaldinho a matter of priority.
Balague explains to the BBC that Xavi feels more and more alone in the club since the appointment of Deco, and the loss of Jordi Cruyff and Alemany. In the face of Xavi, Deco continues to be supportive in front of the president, supporting him until the grip. However, privately, Deco is “not afraid to share his doubts” about Xavi.
This comes shortly after Deco gave an interview affirming that Barcelona needed to break with its old model and look for a new methodology, although it did return to those comments. With the next choice of manager likely to be an amalgamation of his and Joan Laporta's preferences, his true views on how Barcelona should play could become much clearer in the coming months.
