Man Utd are lining up a potential move for former Barcelona boss Xavi if Ruben Amorim continues to struggle at Old Trafford, according to reports.
The Red Devils are having a terrible campaign with INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe making the decision to sack Erik ten Hag and replace him with Amorim in November.
Man Utd are currently 15th in the Premier League, closer to the relegation places than the top four, and Amorim is already coming under severe pressure to turn around results and performances.
Results under Amorim have been worse than Ten Hag’s time at Old Trafford with Man Utd winning just four of his first 15 Premier League matches in charge.
There have been some rumours that Amorim could face the sack if things don’t improve but widespread reports indicate the Portuguese head coach will definitely be in place until at least the end of the season.
And, if things don’t improve, things could line up nicely for former Barcelona manager Xavi to take over with reports on Spanish website Relevo insisting that the Spaniard has ‘rejected all offers’ for this season.
But there is an ‘asterisk’ next to Man Utd’s name with Xavi planning to complete his sabbatical year before ‘preparing to return to the bench for the next campaign’.
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It is claimed that ‘Xavi and his people were clear that they wanted to start an adventure from scratch’ and at ‘no time did they consider the possibility of taking over a team during the season’.
The report adds:
‘One of the options that sounded the strongest was that of Manchester United, who even sounded out Xavi while he was coach of FC Barcelona. During this time inactive, Manchester also contacted the coach to take charge of the team instead of Ruben Amorim. Xavi declined.
‘The Egarense was betting on the continuity of Van Nistelrooy or another provisional coach until he took the reins of United, but for the 2025-2026 season. Finally, the parameters were not given and the ‘red devils’ ended up signing the Portuguese.
‘From here, Xavi Hernandez is preparing to return to the bench for the next campaign . Without obsession or haste. The idea is to be able to take on a competitive project in the long term and that allows the man from Terrassa to return to the elite to fight with the best. And this new team is not ruled out as Manchester United.
‘The poor performance offered by Amorim leaves him on the tightrope despite having a contract until the summer of 2027, with the option of another year.’
Relevo continue: ‘Calls to seduce Xavi continue to happen while waiting for the definitive “yes” from the coach.’
