A contingent of Barcelona supporters made use of the opportunity to send a message to head coach Xavi Hernández on Sunday evening.
This, of course, comes ahead of the Blaugrana’s impending showdown with Athletic Club.
Amid the ongoing battle for a top-4 berth in La Liga, Barca will make the trip to San Mamés, to take on an Athletic outfit brimming with confidence, fresh off sending Atlético Madrid packing from the Copa del Rey in comprehensive fashion.
Ahead of the action getting underway in short order, Barcelona’s staff and players alike, in turn, this evening made their way to Blibao.
And, upon emerging from the team coach, they were greeted by a considerable group of fans at the club’s hotel for the night.
The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong were all roundly cheered.
None was the recipient of a more rousing reception, though, than headmaster Xavi Hernández.
Xavi, of course, is primed to step down from his post in the Barcelona dugout upon the campaign’s conclusion, to make way for a new tactician.
Many of the club’s fans, though, remain firmly behind their side’s once-iconic midfielder, including those in Bilbao on Sunday.
In fact, as per Mundo Deportivo, as he made his way past, chants of ‘Xavi, stay! Xavi, stay!’ were heard coming from those to have made their way to the Carlton Hotel.
Conor Laird | GSFN
