Just days after Xavi Hernández returned to FC Barcelona as a coach, new rules began to be enforced to regulate the "blaugrana" players. Following his appointment, Xavi announced, according to Spanish media reports, that he would seek to impose discipline at Barcelona, a promise he put into practice by fining French international Ousmane Dembélé for being late to training on Friday.
As reported by the Spanish newspaper "Marca," citing the ESPN network, Dembélé was fined (the amount has not been disclosed) for arriving 3 minutes late to training. The Spanish outlet noted that the former Al Sadd coach implemented strict rules on Barcelona players, including preventing Gerard Piqué from appearing on a popular television program shortly after Xavi's arrival.
Barcelona had dismissed Ronald Koeman following a 0-1 defeat against Rayo Vallecano in the league last month, marking the fourth loss for the Catalan team in six matches across all competitions.
Xavi joined Al Sadd as a player in 2015 after spending 17 successful years at Barcelona, and he took over as the Qatari club's coach after retiring in 2019. In April, he led Al Sadd to win the local league title undefeated.
The former player declined the opportunity to coach Barcelona in January 2020 after Ernesto Valverde's sacking, but speculation linking him to the Catalan club's coaching role continued even after Koeman took charge following Quique Setién's departure in August 2020.
