Barcelona are reportedly ready to sack Quique Setien at the end of the season - as Nou Camp legend Xavi waits in the wings.
The Catalan giants dropped points in the title race as they were held 2-2 by relegation-threatened Celta Vigo on Saturday, allowing Real Madrid to leapfrog them at the top of La Liga.
Some players were allegedly involved in a furious bust-up with Setien over his tactics, including the decision to replace Luis Suarez with Antoine Griezmann with the Uruguayan sitting on a hat-trick.
And, according to Goal, the Barca hierarchy are planning to axe Setien at the end of the campaign if things do not improve.
Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January, but looks set to depart just a handful of months into his two-and-a-half-year deal.
That being said, Barca could yet end the season by winning both La Liga and the Champions League, if Setien can oversee an upturn in performances.
Xavi, who is currently in charge of Al-Sadd in Qatar, has admitted he is already preparing to be Barca boss.
"The biggest hope I have now is to be Barca coach and get Barca back to winning ways," he told Spanish outlet Sport.
"Not me but these players and Barca triumphing. And as a consequence, our technical staff, who are preparing for it a lot and it makes us really excited.
"I'm a club man. I would like to return at the right moment to start a project from zero. I've said it a lot of times but I want to take footballing decisions at Barcelona.
"It's clear that after the elections the stage would be set, of course. I'm not ruling anything out. They came for me in January, we were speaking. I told them the circumstances and timing weren't right."
