Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is arguably under more pressure than ever before during his reign, following a series of poor performances on which the Blaugrana must stew over during the international break. While no doubt there are holes in the Barcelona squad, increasingly the finger is being pointed at the manager.
Something which former Barcelona midfielder Riqui Puig seems to be in line with. Following their 2-1 win over Alaves, Xavi was not only slated for the performance of his side, but also his justification for Barcelona’s issues.
After the match, Puig liked a tweet from journalist Josep Capdevila calling Barcelona unrecognisable.
“Xavi is on the way to achieving it: a Barca starting XI without an academy product. Today, just two. We are on our way to a totally unrecognisable Barca.”
Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez were the only academy players in the starting XI against Alaves, but in fairness to Xavi, he wasn’t blessed with alternatives. Oriol Romeu, Alejandro Balde and reserve goalkeeper Inaki Pena were the only senior options on the bench, with Marc Casado and Ander Astralaga filling out the bench. Gavi was suspended and Sergi Roberto is unavailable through injury.
Of all the criticisms that can be made of Xavi, his use of academy players is low down on the list. Puig, 22, did not see eye to eye with Xavi during the period of crossover between the two. While many expected the exit of Ronald Koeman to herald increased game time for Puig, he remained relegated to the bench as Gavi increased in importance, ahead of his ultimate departure to LA Galaxy. This is not the first time he has made his thoughts about Xavi known either, telling the media that he was not treated well by the iconic former midfielder.