Barcelona sporting director Deco has opened the door for Xavi to stay on as head coach of the Catalan giants beyond the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

At the end of January, following a 5-3 home loss to Villarreal in La Liga, Xavi announced that he would be standing down as Barcelona manager this summer.

The team's form since the announcement has been impressive, winning four and drawing two of their six matches in all competitions, and there have been suggestions that Xavi could now reverse his decision.

Speaking after the team's 4-0 win over Getafe in the league last time out, the club's legendary former midfielder insisted that he stands by his initial decision to leave, calling it "the correct call".

However, Deco has said that both he and club president Joan Laporta want Xavi to stay as head coach, with the team still chasing silverware in two competitions this season.

Barcelona are third in the La Liga table, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, while they drew 1-1 away to Napoli in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League affair.

"I would not like Xavi to leave, we renewed for him because we believed in the long-term project. But he has said personal things and he has his reasons. I have the same opinion as the president, I would like Xavi to stay," Deco told Catalunya Radio.

"Xavi's decision was his, and if he changes, it has to come from him. If we win the Champions League, we don't rule out talking to him, we will consider it."

Deco also said that Barcelona are not currently looking for a new manager, fuelling claims that the club will fight to convince Xavi to change his mind.

"We are not talking about the profile of the new coach, because we are not looking for one yet. The season is not over," the club's sporting director added.

"We have to try to win titles but also build a team. This team still has a cycle, there are a lot of young players. There are some people who have given up on the season.

"We live more in the present, it's not that we are not planning, but we need to know the economic conditions, what the players think.... It's not that easy."

According to Sport, Barcelona president Laporta has made 'informal approaches' to Xavi in the hope of convincing the club legend to see out his contract, which expires in 2025.

The report claims that the club are finding it difficult to identify the right successor, and Xavi has now been asked to stay on as manager for at least one more season. body check tags ::