Barcelona were moving closer to appointing Xavi Hernandez on Thursday after the club sacked Ronald Koeman as coach. 

A 1-0 defeat by Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday left Barca ninth in La Liga, six points off the top four after winning only two of their last seven league games. 

Koeman’s dismissal was confirmed almost three hours after full-time, with club president Joan Laporta reportedly flying to Qatar on Thursday morning to finalise an agreement with Xavi. 

Xavi, Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder who won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with them as a player, left in 2015 for Al Sadd, where he has been coach since 2019. 

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