Barcelona president Joan Laporta is monitoring Thiago Motta's progress at Bologna.

With Xavi under pressure at Barca, Laporta has Motta under consideration as a potential replacement.

That's according to the director of El Larguero Manu Carreno, stating: "If in the end some cataclysm happens and he leaves before the season ends, which seems difficult today, there is Rafa Márquez warming up the band.

"If Xavi finishes the season, it seems that one of Joan Laporta's trusted men, even above Rafa Márquez, keep an eye on the name of Thiago Motta."

Fellow commentator Sique Rodríguez also said: "If the next three months are like the first five, Xavi is not going to continue. What happens is that the situation at the club is complicated, because on an economic level Barça continues to be a slave to fair play."