Journalist Matteo Moretto revealed that contact had taken place between Juventus management and Xavi Hernandez regarding the Spaniard taking over as coach of the Old Lady, replacing Igor Tudor.
The Croatian coach was dismissed due to poor results following Sunday’s 1-0 Serie A defeat to Lazio, and Juventus’ search for a permanent successor remains ongoing, without results.
According to Moretto, the first name circulated within Juventus to replace Tudor was Xavi. The Italian club’s officials have great respect for him and his career at Barcelona, and they saw him as the ideal choice to put things right at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus officials did offer Xavi the Bianconeri job, but surprisingly, the former Barcelona coach turned down the offer, citing “personal reasons.”
Xavi’s refusal comes despite his previous assertion that he was open to a new experience after Barcelona in the top five leagues. Juventus seemed like an ideal move for him, given that the Italian giants’ circumstances are almost identical to those under which he coached Barcelona four years ago.
It should be noted that Xavi has rejected numerous Arab offers in the recent past, most recently from Saudi club Al-Ittihad. The promising coach is determined to wait for the best coaching opportunity of his career, and then he will return for the first time since leaving Barcelona in the summer of 2024.
