Thiago Motta emerges as the ‘number one’ choice to replace Xavi at Barcelona
Thiago Motta has reportedly emerged as the “number one” choice to replace Xavi at Barcelona if the club decide to part ways with the coach.
There’s growing speculation that Barca will wave goodbye to Xavi at the end of the season after an underwhelming campaign.
Cadena SER are reporting that Motta is the current favourite to take over as Laporta “really likes” the former Barca man who has impressed with his work at Bologna.
Motta only took the job in 2022 but has turned the team’s form around. Bologna have gone from a team struggling to stay in the Italian top flight to one that sits seventh right now.
As you might expect, Bologna play a possession-based game that saw them achieve their highest Serie A finish in over a decade last season (ninth place in case you were wondering).
Bologna are enjoying another strong campaign this time around, despite losing key players including Marko Arnautović last summer.
The team are on course to secure European football for the first time since the 1999-2000 season which would be no mean feat.
It’s also worth noting that Motta’s contract expires in the summer, meaning he could well opt for a new challenge if an interesting vacancy were to appear.
