Barcelona boss Xavi has said that his contract renewal at Camp Nou “will be announced in a few days”.
The 43-year-old’s existing deal with the Catalan giants is due to expire next June, but the club’s new director of football Deco said last week that an agreement over an extension was close.
Xavi, speaking ahead of Saturday’s La Liga clash with Real Betis, revealed that “the project is continuing” at the club, with an announcement over a new contract set to arrive in the near future.
“I am happy and the project is continuing. My contract renewal will be announced in a few days,” the manager told reporters during his press conference to preview the contest with Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Xavi’s new deal is expected to run until June 2025, meaning that it will only be an extension of 12 months.
The head coach represented Barcelona as a player between 1991 and 2015, spending 17 years in the first team during a glittering career.
Xavi left Camp Nou for Al Sadd in 2015, spending four years with the Qatari outfit as a player before becoming their head coach.
The ex-midfielder returned to Camp Nou as boss in November 2021, and he has now taken charge of 94 games, boasting a record of 58 wins, 17 draws and 19 defeats.
Xavi led Barcelona to a La Liga and Spanish Super Cup double last season, but the Catalan outfit again failed to make it out of the group stage of the Champions League in 2022-23.
Barcelona have made a strong start to their 2023-24 La Liga campaign, picking up 10 points from their first four matches, winning their last three against Cadiz, Villarreal and Osasuna.
Following the clash with Real Betis, the Catalan side will switch their attention to the Champions League, preparing to open their group-stage campaign against Royal Antwerp next week.
Barcelona managed to add Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix to their squad on transfer deadline day, with the pair arriving on loan from Manchester City and Atletico Madrid respectively.
The duo both appeared off the bench against Osasuna before the international break and are now in line to feature from the start against Real Betis.
Ronald Araujo and Pedri remain unavailable for selection due to injury, but Ilkay Gundogan is in the squad despite picking up a back injury during Germany’s clash with France during the international break.
