Joan Laporta Sends Strong Message to Xavi and Barcelona Players After Champions League Exit

• Joan Laporta is not happy with Barcelona’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive season
• The Barcelona president has now described the Catalans’ elimination as a shame following their loss to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich
• Barcelona suffered a 3-0 defeat in front of their fans in the return leg of the Champions League game against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has refused to blame Xavi or his players for the Catalans’ early elimination from the UEFA Champions League this season.

Barca were knocked out of Europe’s most prestigious club competition in the group stages for the second consecutive season, after suffering a 3-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich.

Laporta exonerated Xavi of any blame for the club’s miseries in the Champions League but insists everyone must now look for a way forward, Sportskeeda reports.

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"It’s a shame, but you can’t blame the players or the coach for anything. We have to look forward because we have La Liga and other competitions left."

Barcelona has won only one of the club’s five group-stage matches, after suffering double defeats against Bayern Munich and both a draw and a loss against Inter Milan.

Laporta looks for UCL scapegoats

Laporta meanwhile insists that Barcelona losing in the manner they did against Bayern Munich should have consequences, following a 3-0 humbling against the Bundesliga giants, Marca reports.

The club president was critical of the manner in which the Catalans crashed against Julian Nagelsmann’s team, calling for a restructuring of the current Barcelona setup.

La Blaugrana will drop to the Europa League for the second consecutive season, after yet another embarrassing campaign in Europe’s top-tier club competition.

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Laporta rallies support for Barcelona manager Xavi

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Barcelona manager Xavi has received the backing of club president Joan Laporta to turn the Catalans’ fortunes around, after a turbulent few weeks at Camp Nou.

Xavi faced heavy criticism from supporters after Barcelona’s disappointing Champions League results against Inter Milan and the El Clasico loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Laporta has now revealed that he has complete faith in the 42-year-old manager, whom he says has the ability to lead Barcelona back to the top after the club’s recent setbacks.