Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Thursday that Xavi Hernández’s choice to stay on as Barcelona manager is the “correct decision.”
Xavi, 44, had announced in January that he would walk away from the post at the end of the season, but has now opted to remain in charge until the end of his contract in 2025.
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“I think Xavi has done a good job at Barcelona,” Ancelotti told a news conference. “He knows the club very well and it seems to me to be the correct decision to stay.
Asked whether a person’s word matters more than a contract, Ancelotti said: “Well, well, well… What a question. Everything is important.
“We have to respect that people can change their opinion. It’s not in writing. How many times have I changed opinion in my career? It’s allowed.”
Ancelotti also responded to Barça president Joan Laporta’s claim that Madrid’s 3-2 victory in El Clásico on Sunday should be replayed if it is proven a VAR error led to Lamine Yamal‘s goal not being awarded at the Bernabéu.
Yamal’s effort was scooped from the goalmouth by Madrid goalkeeper Andrey Lunin at 1-1 in the first half and with no goal-line technology in LaLiga, VAR ruled that the shot did not cross the line.
