Why Xavi’s Application to Become Manager of Shock Team Was Rejected

Former Barcelona central midfielder and boss Xavi Hernandez recently applied for the India National Team manager role – and the reason why the 45-year-old Spaniard was rejected by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has now been revealed.

Ever since leaving his boyhood club in the summer of 2024, there have been murmurs of the midfielder-turned-boss returning to management. Manchester United, pre-Ruben Amorim, were among those interested in taking on his services in the dugout.

Though, at the time of writing, Xavi – widely regarded as one of the best passers in the history of football – is still out of work. Reports have claimed that he has been busy submitting applications but, that said, India have rejected him… but why is that?

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Why Xavi’s Application to India National Team Was Rejected

The ex-midfielder – alongside Harry Kewell – was among a long list of candidates

AIFF’s technical committee, per The Times of India, were surprised – in fact, they were in utter disbelief – over the long list of candidates for the India coaching job. Stephen Constatine, Harry Kewell and Steve Kean were all reportedly keen.

But the Barcelona legend, who racked up in excess of 700 appearances for the Spanish heavyweights, was marked in green – but why did he not get the call-up by AIFF? And no, it’s not because he left the contact number column blank.

The idea of Xavi taking charge of the Indian men’s national team may sound far-fetched – but following the departure of Manolo Marquez earlier in July, his name popped up in conversations. “It’s correct that Xavi’s name was there,” AIFF team director Subrata Paul confirmed in the report. “The application was emailed to the AIFF.”

However, according to The Times of India’s sources, their technical committee did not consider the ex-engine room operator for the final shortlist because he would be too much of a financial burden to the national team, a member of the technical committee revealed.

Interestingly, in a recent interview with The Athletic, Xavi admitted that he “sometimes (follows) the Indian League because many Spanish coaches are there”. Sergio Lobera, Antonio Lopez, Josep Gombau and Juan Ferrando are just a few of those.

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Xavi, before taking charge of Barcelona, managed Qatari outfit Al-Sadd between July 2019 and November 2021 after retiring from his playing career just before the turn of the decade. The transition from player to manager was seamless.

But his most notable managerial spell, of course, was in his homeland for La Blaugrana. In the 2022/23 campaign, he led the footballing giants to a domestic double: they finished ten points ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga and beat their fierce rivals 3-1 in the final of the Supercopa de Espana.