Is there a chance Xavi stays at Barcelona? Don't count it out

Key Facts

• Having used the disastrous home defeat to Villarreal in January to emotionally announce that at the end of this season he would quit a year early, Xavi has been asked dozens of times whether he'll change his mind.
• But after Champions League elimination by Paris Saint-Germain last week, he was unequivocal, responding to news that PSG coach and former Barça boss Luis Enrique Martínez had said that Xavi should stay for "years" with a curt reply:"Well, I won't!" - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Then, about 12 hours after the Clasico, which all-but guaranteed that Real Madrid will win the title -- and, equally, guaranteed that Los Blancos will finish their season with three victories over Barcelona, two in LaLiga and one in the Supercopa, by an aggregate 9-4 score) -- multiple sources have told ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens that ,if certain conditions are met, Xavi is willing to renounce his decision and stay to complete the remaining year of his contract at least.
• You may well argue that he'd be ultrasmart to turn his back, walk away and then, retrospectively, point to the huge things he has done for this club since he took over as coach in November 2021.
• Two trophies last season will, for fans, be dimmed in their significance by celebrating zero silverware this season -- but the idea of Barcelona regularly winning Clasicos again, competing with Madrid for LaLiga (and actually winning one) and a restored ability to punch their weight in Europe were distant prospects when he arrived.

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