Exclusive: Emmanuel Petit questions Xavi’s criticism of Barcelona media – “He knows the reality”

It’s safe to say that it has been a bitterly disappointing season so far for Barcelona. They are already 10 points off Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, failed to win the Spanish Super Cup, and are out of the Copa del Rey. The Champions League looks to be their only chance of a trophy, although even then, their chances of success there are very unlikely.

The campaign started well enough for the Catalans, but the last few months has seen them drop off massively. It was during this period that Real Madrid stretched their advantage in La Liga, and that they exited the two domestic cup competitions without success. Even then, they only stumbled their way to top spot in their UCL group, which was arguably the weakest of anyone’s.

Speaking exclusively to Football España, Emmanuel Petit gave his thoughts as to why his former club has struggled so much in recent months.

“I think you have so many reasons for that. There has been so many fights on and off the pitch. I’ve been told that Xavi has some problems with Deco, we all know the troubles that they have been having financially for many years too.

“On the pitch, they’ve conceded far too many goals in recent weeks. Last season they were very difficult to beat, they barely conceded. It’s not the same structure, they don’t have the same heart as before. They don’t have enough mental strength, they don’t kill games off when they have the chance. They aren’t the same team, they don’t have the same confidence as before. They have so many problems, and I’m not even talking about Xavi, about the pressure on him.”

Petit also noted Barcelona’s injury crisis as a key reason for their underperformance. He believes that the club’s medical team need to be scrutinised because of this, as he used the example of Ousmane Dembele, who has been injury-free since moving to France last summer, despite constantly being in the treatment room during his time on Catalonia.

“Top players have been injured for many weeks – they’ve lost the spine of the team. I have to ask, why Ousmane Dembele hasn’t been injured with Paris Saint-Germain? He’s been injured so many times at Barcelona, so can anyone explain that situation?”

Last month, Xavi announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the season. The 44-year-old coach has had a troubled relationship with the media over recent months, which he claims played a big role in his decision.

Upon announcing his resignation, Xavi also states that Barcelona would never have a manager that stays for many, many years – similarly to what Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United (26 years) – as “the media would not allow it to be the case”. Petit shared his thoughts on these remarks.

“Xavi said he’s going to leave at the end of the season, he could even quit sooner. My feeling from the outside is that Xavi has had enough of the situation – I think he’s tired of it, I think the players can feel that too, and they are also tired of the situation.

“It’s easy for Xavi to blame the media. In modern football, even in the past, it’s very rare to stay at a club for 20 years. The last case has been Jurgen Klopp with Liverpool, or Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Before that, it was Arsene Wenger (at Arsenal).

“I know that Xavi has been complaining about many things over the last few months – referees, money, players or anything. Barcelona fans will always love Xavi for what he has done at the club, especially as a player, but when you manage a big club like this, you have to be aware that you are under pressure every single game. When things don’t turn around in a good way, you are under pressure.”

Petit did acknowledge that the scrutiny in Spain is considerably more than in other countries across Europe, although he believes that for clubs like Barcelona, it’s still part and parcel of the job, considering the expectations that are placed on the team not only by the media, but supporters too.

“It was the case when I was at Barcelona. Every day at training, we were in front of 15 journalists for every session, and they were trying to create stories or sensations. It’s always been like that, so Xavi knows the reality with managing big clubs like this because he has been with Barcelona for years. He knows when you are at big clubs like this, you don’t have time to create a vision, especially when we all know Barcelona’s DNA of tiki-taka, attacking football all the time.

“The pressure in Spain is much higher than here in France. The football for passion isn’t as high as places like Spain, England or Italy. I’m very surprised when some managers or players are shocked with the criticism they are getting – if you don’t want to deal with big speculation, don’t manage at top clubs. Go to the second division or change sports, it’s as simple as that. If you want to manage at Barcelona, to compete with the biggest clubs on the biggest stage, you need to know what it takes, so don’t complain.”

While Xavi was a player for many years at Barcelona, so he would understand the pressure, it is completely difference as a manager, as you are seen as the person responsible for the team’s results and performances – when things go wrong, you are the first person to be criticised and scrutinised. There are correct points on both sides of the argument, so it’s a fair debate to be had either way.

It is clear that Xavi has been pretty successful as Barcelona manager during his 2+ years in charge, even if he ends this season without a trophy. However, it has been a disappointing ending to this stage, although there is time for the Blaugrana to turn things around before the campaign comes to a close.