Any fan of La Liga has the right to feel this is a meaningless end to the season. Real Madrid have celebrated their league title, the relegation battle is pretty much sorted and only the last European spot is to be decided.
But Barcelona’s final games have plenty riding on them. If Barca win against relegated Almeria on Thursday, they will be four points above Girona, who have dropped four points in their last two games, with two matches to play.
Barca sources — like others in this article, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships — calculate the financial impact on finishing second would earn them about €6million ($6.5m; £5.1m) with their participation in the next Supercopa de Espana (Spain’s version of the English Community Shield) in Saudi Arabia.
The same sources insist this money is not going to be life-changing — as it is the approximate amount they can raise by arranging a friendly game abroad as they did last December against Club America, of Mexico, in Dallas.
GO DEEPER
Xavi’s Barcelona U-turn – the dramatic story behind his decision to stay
But, above all, this is much-needed from a sporting perspective. “It is vital to get that second spot — it would be a setback to not secure it now,” Xavi said on Sunday before the Real Sociedad game.
That second place is something that would reassure the manager in his U-turn to stay at Barcelona because there is not a unified consensus on the 44-year-old being the best possible man for the job.
It has been three weeks since Joan Laporta, Xavi and Deco posed together at Joan Gamper training facilities, smiling and shaking hands in front of photographers to announce their decision to allow Xavi to stay and fulfil his next year of contract — three months after he said he was leaving.
Deco, left, Laporta, middle, and Xavi after it was agreed the head coach would stay last month (LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)
That picture should have been one to put an end to uncertainty. It has not.
On April 24, Laporta was the one who decided, after an emergency meeting at his house, that Xavi would stay. Hours earlier, a board meeting had taken place next to the Camp Nou and several club executives left with the impression the manager was ready to be let go at the end of the season – and were on board with it. Those doubts persist.
The painful 4-2 loss away to Girona a fortnight ago reaffirmed concerns among board members over Xavi’s position, as they felt it was just another episode of the same problems the manager had experienced throughout the season.
The way the squad crumbled in that game, conceding three goals in a 10-minute spell in the second half, resembled some of the most painful performances of the season, like the Villarreal loss at home that fuelled Xavi’s resignation or the last-minute Clasico defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Last Monday’s 2-0 win against Real Sociedad was a precious one for Barcelona. They always seem to be one defeat away from further debates on Xavi’s future.
For now, it is clear that relevant figures inside the club do not seem to be on the same page.
Senior club executives feel that Xavi has put the club in a tough spot twice this season: first by announcing his shock resignation on his terms and when he announced his reconsideration and pleaded with president Laporta to grant him another chance.
Apart from that resentment, there were words from sporting director Deco on Spanish TV during the build-up of their game against Real Sociedad which spoke volumes.
GO DEEPER
Barcelona’s ‘Deco debate’ – why sporting director’s interview became a hot topic
“It is normal we read a lot of news about Barcelona because that’s what the club generates. When there’s no football in 10 days, that’s what you get.
“But the debate about the future must be done internally. We can’t keep chatting out loud about what we are going to do. We must plan next season at home, not in the local media. There are not many people in the club’s sporting area. Right now, it’s me, the president Laporta and the manager. If leaks do not come from here, I don’t know where they come from… but here we are used to it”.
It is not hard to read that as a subtle dig from Deco, who has not been a happy man reading the ambitious lists of transfer targets Barcelona have been linked with.
Sources who work close to the sporting direction do not envisage a revamp of the squad as any arrivals will be dependent on Barcelona solving their financial issues with La Liga and selling players to make room for new ones.
Barcelona coaching staff are reported to have requested the signing of a new holding midfielder (Joshua Kimmich or Martin Zubimendi), another attacking midfielder (Bernardo Silva), a new winger (Xavi Simons or Dani Olmo) and even a full-back (Juan Foyth) — but this is as unrealistic as it gets given Barca’s financial predicament.
Kimmich has been linked with Barca – but could they afford the Bayern Munich midfielder (Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
There is no way all of those signings will happen but this is a prime example of how Barcelona works.
Every department inside the club is saying or briefing their assessment of the situation because, deep down, they all know not doing it could make them lose the narrative battle.
The end of the season is less than two weeks away but that will be the start of another long summer with top decision-makers not being on the same page.
The one thing they can agree on is how much a win is needed against Almeria to clinch second.
(Top photo: Laporta and Xavi in happier times. David Ramos/Getty Images)
