All India Football Federation Turns Down Barcelona Legend Xavi Hernandez's Application For Coaching Role, Due To Financial Implications: Report

All India Football Federation turned down FC Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez's application for coaching the Indian Men's National Football Team, according to a report from TOI.

After the departure of Manolo Marquez as the head coach of the Indian Football Team, the AIFF opened applications to fill the vacant position.

According to the report from The Times of India, former FC Barcelona coach and player, Xavi, showed his interest in becoming the new head coach of the Indian Football Team. However, the AIFF had to reject Xavi's application due to financial implications.

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The AIFF national team director, Subrata Paul, also confirmed the same to TOI, saying that Xavi sent his application via email to the governing body of football in India.

“It’s correct that Xavi’s name was there. The application was emailed to the AIFF,” Subrata Paul said as quoted by TOI.

The report further stated that Xavi Hernandez applied for the role from his personal email, but unlike other applicants, the former Barcelona head coach kept the contact number column blank.

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Xavi Hernandez's Illustrious Career

Xavi Hernandez's coach started in 2019 with Qatar-based Al-Sadd. After spending two years in Qatar, the 45-year-old returned to Spain to coach his boyhood club, FC Barcelona.

In his footballing career, Xavi played 524 matches for the Catalan-based club, scoring 66 goals. He joined Barcelona in 1998 from the junior team, and stayed till July 2015.

In 2015, the Spaniard joined Al-Sadd in a free transfer and stayed there till 2019, playing 101 matches and scoring 25 goals.

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