Joan Laporta and Xavi Hernandez meeting snubbed at Iniesta’s retirement ceremony

It’s safe to say that Barcelona president Joan Laporta and former manager Xavi Hernandez are not on the best of terms these days. The former was sacked at the end of last season to allow for the arrival of Hansi Flick, and although that change was worked wonders so far, the circumstances surrounding the dismissal did leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Just weeks prior to the sacking, Laporta had pleaded with Xavi not to resign at the end of the season. He dually obliged, before being fired anyway. Since then, the pair’s relationship hasn’t been at its best, to say the least, and despite both being present at Andres Iniesta’s retirement ceremony on Tuesday, the pair did not greet each other, as per Diario AS.

However, it wasn’t just each other that Laporta and Xavi opted not to greet. The former did not exchange pleasantries with Real Madrid representative Emilio Butragueno, amid rising off-field tensions between the two Clasico rivals. In Xavi’s case, he also avoided speaking to Barcelona officials such as Deco, Bojan Krkic and Flick.