Barcelona want to hire Cristiano Ronaldo's current international boss as their next manager - Reports
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is being reportedly pursued by Barcelona to replace their outgoing boss Xavi.
The legendary Xavi announced his decision to depart at the end of the season following a series of indifferent results, culminating with a 5-3 La Liga home defeat to Villarreal in January.
Having lost to Real Madrid in the Supercopa Espana final and lost at Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, Xavi's side find themselves eight points off the La Liga summit with only 12 games to go.
As per Football Transfers, one of the names linked to the Camp Nou job in the summer is Martinez, who assumed charge of Portugal after their 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal exit.
The aforementioned report says that the reigning La Liga champions have offered the Spaniard an initial one-year deal and don't want him to leave the Portugal job as well, meaning Martinez could do both concurrently.
The Spaniard has had success with Ronaldo and Co., winning all 10 of their games during their successful UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. In club football, the Portugal boss has previously managed Swansea, Wigan Athletic and Everton.
The Spaniard, though, is yet to respond to Barca's proposal, and any decision, if any, is expected only after Portugal's European Championship campaign in Germany this summer.
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared against Barcelona?
Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game.
Since emerging on the scene more than two decades ago, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has amassed a record tally of 877 goals for club and country and is still going strong.
Having scored a record 54 goals for club and country in 2023 - more than any other player - the 39-year-old has started off in the same vein in 2023, scoring in all four outings.
The Al-Nassr forward has an impressive record against Barcelona. In 34 games across competitions for three different clubs, he has 20 goals and three assists.
Most of these goal contributions - 18 goals and three assists - came while he was at Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018. However, Cristiano Ronaldo has a losing 10-15 record against Barcelona.