Flores slams Barça's treatment of club legends

Sevilla boss Quique Sánchez Flores has criticised Barcelona for their treatment of club greats after they announced on Friday that coach Xavi Hernández would be sacked at the end of the season.

Barça fired Xavi just four weeks after confirming he would honour the last year of his contract and lead them through next season. He had announced in January that he would resign at the end of the campaign but reversed his decision last month.

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Sánchez Flores referred to how former Barça player Ronald Koeman was sacked in 2021 and all-time top scorer Lionel Messi could not sign a new contract due to the club’s finances being in disarray.

“I shouldn’t say this, but how badly Barcelona treats its legends. What a bad streak,” Sanchez Flores told reporters ahead of their final LaLiga game of the season against Barça.

“With Koeman, with Messi, with Xavi now, how bad. I wish clubs treated their legends well. That would be fantastic. That is a legacy of connection from the managers to the fans. This connects a lot, treating legends well,” Sanchez Flores added.

“Xavi is a legend of the club. He won the league last season and football has a short memory. He was questioned this year from the first minute. I have doubts that the criticism about him is correct.”

Barça will finish the season second in LaLiga behind champions Real Madrid and Xavi will remain in charge for the game at Sevilla.

“Xavi has experienced many things as a player and has done a good job as a coach,” Sanchez Flores added. “I’ll give him a huge hug, we’ll talk.”