Xavi extends contract as Barcelona manager until 2025

Xavi has signed a new contract at Barcelona, the club have confirmed.

The former midfielder, 43, has agreed to extend his stay until 2025, with the option of an additional year.

The Spaniard returned to the club where he starred as a player in November 2021 as a replacement for Ronald Koeman and has gone on to enjoy a successful start to life in charge.

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Barcelona finished second under his guidance in 2021-22 before he won the La Liga title and Spanish Super Cup in his first full season last term.

Xavi enjoyed a glittering playing career at Camp Nou winning La Liga eight times, the Copa del Rey three times and the Champions League four times.

Barcelona are second in La Liga with four wins and a draw from their five games so far this season.

They return to action against Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Why Xavi’s contract only runs until 2025

Analysis from Barcelona writer Laia Cervello Herrero

According to sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, Xavi is set to double his €4m a year salary and his backroom staff have been given significant pay rises too.

The length of the new contract — a one-year extension until the summer of 2025 — tells its own story. Xavi had agreed a two-year extension to 2026, but that was never a realistic option given the club’s still-precarious financial situation. Barcelona think the one-year renewal will have less of an impact on financial fair play and possibly allow them to make more signings in the next two transfer windows.

This deal allows the club to be financially prudent, while Xavi is in favour of short contracts — just like his former Barca manager and now Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola.

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Explaining Xavi's Barcelona renewal - and why new deal only runs to 2025

(Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

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