It was announced a few days ago that J.C. Navarro, who has been the general director of Barcelona since 2021, will have to leave the team.
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The final nail in the coffin for the legendary basketball player’s position in the Barca organization was head coach Xavi Pascual’s decision to leave for the Dubai club, even though the Catalan who returned to Barca at the end of last year still had a two-year contract.
J.C. Navarro never managed to build a winning team – if with Šarūnas Jasikevičius during 2020-2023 Barca won the Spanish league and cup twice and reached the EuroLeague Final Four all three times, in the last three seasons the Catalans did not win a single trophy, did not reach the Final Four even once, and this season they were left out of the EuroLeague playoffs altogether.
36-year-old X. Pujol, who will take J.C. Navarro’s place, made a name for himself while working with Manresa’s Baxi team, which reached the FIBA Champions League final and played in the Spanish league and cup playoffs.
It was X. Pujol in Manresa who gave a platform for current EuroLeague stars Sylvain Francisco and Chima Moneke to shine, who later rose to a higher level.
Frenchman currently playing for Žalgiris previously played for the modest Rouen Chorale team in France before his stint in Manresa, while Ch. Moneke played for the mid-table French league team Orléans Entente.
It is worth emphasizing that Barcelona, according to reports, has been trying to lure S. Francisco, who was selected for the first symbolic team of the best EuroLeague players this season, since the beginning of spring.
A year ago, the Spaniard joined the Baskonia organization, with which he triumphed in the Spanish King’s Cup competition in February.
However, as Mundo Deportivo reports, X. Pujol has not managed to gain full decision-making freedom, as the long-time team leader Alfredo Salaraz still holds greater power in Vitoria.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca has already reached an agreement with X. Pujol, despite the fact that he still has a two-year contract with Baskonia.
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