Barcelona are reportedly mulling former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to replace the outgoing Xavi at the end of the season.
The legendary Spaniard announced his decision to exit the club following a spate of indifferent results. Following a 4-1 Supercopa Espana final defeat to Real Madrid last month, Barca exited the Copa del Rey with a 4-2 extra time loss at Athletic Bilbao.
In their very next game, Xavi’s side slumped to a disappointing 5-3 home defeat to Villarreal in La Liga, following which the Blaugrana boss said that he would leave at the end of the season.
That sent the reigning La Liga champions scurrying for replacements. As per Barca Universal (via Sport), one option is ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel, who currently manages Bayern Munich.
Tuchel is not having the best of times at the Bundesliga club since taking charge nearly a year ago. After winning the Bundesliga on the last day of the season, the German’s side lost 2-0 at Bayer Leverkusen in a top-of-the-table clash at the weekend to fall five points behind the leaders with 13 games to go.
The former Chelsea boss, though, has fared better in Europe, with Bayern winning their UEFA Champions League group with five wins and a draw. They take on Lazio away in the Round of 16 second leg on Wednesday (February 14).
What’s next for Barcelona and Chelsea?
Barcelona are in the midst of an underwhelming campaign. Having exited two competitions, their La Liga title defence is in tatters following a damaging 3-3 home draw with Granada at the weekend.
They will look to keep their dwindling hopes alive when they visit Celta Vigo in the league on Saturday (February 17), trailing Los Blancos by 10 points with 14 games to go.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have fared worse, finding themselves in tenth place, 13 points off fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur (47) after 24 games. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have done well in the domestic cups, though, reaching the EFL Cup final and the FA Cup fifth round.
They next take on Manchester City away in the league on Saturday as they look to climb into the European places.
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