Barcelona have confirmed the dismissal of head coach Xavi Hernández, and are preparing to unveil his successor late next week.

Barcelona have confirmed that Xavi Hernández will not continue as the club’s head coach next season, revealing in a statement that president Joan Laporta informed the 44-year-old of the decision to sack him earlier today. As ever in these situations, the chief problem to be resolved is the question of compensation, although Barça are confident that Xavi will follow through on his message that he is determined never to be a problem for the club, particularly in financial terms.

Barça chief Laporta has Xavi successor lined up

The man Laporta has chosen to replace Xavi is Hansi Flick. The German, who led Bayern to a domestic and European treble in 2019/20, is expected to arrive in Barcelona midway through next week, ahead of this unveiling by the LaLiga giants. According to the Spanish soccer news outlet Jijantes, Laporta contacted Flick’s agent, Pine Zahavi, on Thursday to confirm that the 59-year-old will be the next head coach of the 26-time Spanish champions.

When will Flick be unveiled as Barcelona head coach?

Barça’s plan is to present Flick as their new boss on Thursday or Friday next week, coinciding with the build-up to Real Madrid’s Champions League final clash with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. This is an intentional move by the Blaugrana: they want the unveiling of the club’s new head coach to knock Madrid off the front pages of the sports press, at least in Catalonia. As Barça fans face up to seeing their arch rivals contest yet another Champions League trophy decider, Barça also want to take the opportunity to send out a message of hope and optimism, in the wake of a season to forget for the club.

How long will Flick’s Barcelona contract be for?

As Diario AS has previously reported, Flick is set to sign a two-year contract as Barça head coach, with an exit clause after the first 12 months. The second year in the deal will be automatically triggered as long as neither party expresses their desire to part ways after the former Germany head coach’s opening campaign in charge.

Flick is expected to begin his first preseason as Blaugrana boss on 8 July, although a number of members of the first-team squad will still be on international duty at the European Championship or the Copa América. On 28 July, Barça are scheduled to set off on their preseason tour of the United States, where three testing friendlies await. The Catalans face Manchester City in Orlando, before a summer Classico against Madrid in East Rutherford, and match-up with AC Milan in Baltimore.