Odds-on favourite emerges in betting to replace Ronald Koeman as next Barcelona manager

For so long we were all blessed to watch a superstar-packed Barcelona team conjure up a mesmerising brand of football, complete with a plethora of goals, en route to winning trophies on tap.

It was always a shock when they lost possession, let alone lost a game.

Not anymore, those days are long gone, as losing becomes the norm at the financially crippled club.

Barcelona sacked Ernesto Valverde in January 2020 despite their former player delivering back-to-back league titles. Instead, he paid the price due to qualms over his style of play.

Valverde made way for Quique Setien who came in for all of 25 matches before he too was axed, with the overriding memory of his tenure an 8-2 thumping at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Barcelona then opted to appoint club legend Ronald Koeman in the summer of 2020; their third manager in six months.

Koeman had a very respectable, yet by no means sensational, managerial record. He’d lifted league titles in his homeland with Ajax and PSV, won cups at Valencia, Benfica and AZ, propelled Southampton to their best-ever Premier League finish, and came runners-up with Netherlands in the Nations League final.

In his first season as Barcelona manager Koeman was unable to claim the league title and exited the Champions League in the last-16, but he did at least get his hands on the Copa del Rey trophy.

The Dutchman managed to cling onto his job during a chaotic summer, although he lost star player Lionel Messi, whose performances undoubtedly papered over a myriad of cracks last season. 

It’s since been a nightmare start to the new campaign.

Barcelona have lost their opening two Champions League games for the first time ever; both heavy 3-0 defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica; they alarmingly had just one shot on target across both games.

As @StatmanDave tweeted: the last time Barcelona lost back-to-back group stage games Pep Guardiola was their captain. 

Barcelona could even be in danger of finishing bottom of Champions League Group E: They are now out at 25/1 to top the group and 7/4 to qualify.

There have also been disappointing league draws against Granada and Cadiz. Simply put, they look way off the pace.

It’s no secret that Barcelona want to change their manager, it’s a case of whether they have the cash to do so.

The club’s dire financial situation is a complete mess but if they do somehow figure something out it will only fuel rumours that club legend Xavi will finally return as manager, having been linked multiple times over the last couple of years.

Xavi has been busy winning trophies in Qatar at Al Sadd, however he now finds himself as the odds-on favourite in the next Barcelona manager market (10/11, William Hill), which also features the likes of Roberto Martinez, Antonio Conte, Erik ten Hag, and perhaps surprisingly Andrea Pirlo.

But it’s Xavi, who can still be backed at 2/1 with Paddy Power, who would surely be the popular pick, however, we will all have to wait and see whether he wants to return to his former stomping ground in such difficult circumstances.

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