Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu is now pushing for Mauricio Pochettino to replace Ernesto Valverde after club legend Xavi declined the chance to return to his old stomping ground.
Pochettino has been out of work since November, after being sacked by Tottenham and replaced by Jose Mourinho just 12 hours later.
Valverde is no longer at ease at Barcelona and his problems were compounded on Thursday night as they were thrown out of the Spanish Super Cup by Atletico Madrid.
Xavi has since been sounded out about moving back to Spain.
However, the Al Sadd boss has said no to Bartomeu and co., which has prompted them to look to former Spurs manager Pochettino.
According to RAC1, Pochettino has emerged No 1 candidate to take the reins at the Barca should Valverde be given his marching orders.
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GoalBall understands Pochettino is being handpicked by Barcelona president Bartomeu, who has since gained the approval of other board members.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
