Xavi Hernandez could demand to bring a team of seven trusted staff with him to Manchester United if he replaces Erik ten Hag.
The 44-year-old is currently jobless after parting ways with Barcelona at the end of last season. He has been touted as one of the top contenders to take over from Ten Hag following United’s dismal start to the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite surviving a seven-hour crisis meeting held by the United board during the international break earlier this month, Ten Hag was sacked on Monday following the controversial 2-1 defeat against West Ham on Sunday.
According to the Daily Mail, United bosses have already reached out to Xavi twice in recent months. Speculation that the 2010 World Cup winner is eager to join the Red Devils was further stoked by an Instagram story shared by his wife on Sunday, showing their son wearing a United jersey.
It’s still uncertain whether the Catalan will embark on a new journey in the Premier League, but it’s highly likely that he already has his coaching staff lined up for the job should a move happen. This is because Xavi has consistently used the same team of seven coaches throughout his two managerial roles so far.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The team includes: his brother and assistant coach Oscar Hernandez, assistant coach Sergio Alegre, fitness coach Ivan Torres, goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon De la Fuente, analysts Sergio Garcia, Toni Lobo and David Prats. Oscar, Xavi’s right-hand man, was a defensive midfielder in the Spanish second and third divisions before managing an academy in Qatar while his brother pursued a managerial career.
Alegre, who worked with Barca’s youth teams, became Xavi’s assistant at Al-Sadd and Barcelona. Torres, a childhood friend of Xavi, played semi-professional football in Spain before becoming a fitness coach in Cyprus and later Leeds United.
Prats, a former teammate of Xavi in the Barcelona youth team, later managed Al-Sadd’s U23s. Garcia, a former top prospect at La Masia whose career was cut short by injury, specialises in dead-ball situations and compiles data on opposition teams.
Lobo, who played alongside Xavi, Prats and Garcia, is responsible for recording training sessions and matches for detailed analysis. All of these coaching staff were born within two years of Xavi and hail from the same region of Spain.
During his tenure at Al-Sadd between May 2019 and November 2021, Xavi clinched seven trophies, including the top flight in 2020/21. He also won the La Liga title with his boyhood club Barcelona in his first full season, but had a tough final campaign and had disagreements with the club’s hierarchy.