Barcelona boss Xavi admits he could be sacked if he fails to inspire turnaround following defeat to Real Madrid and club on verge of Champions League exit

Xavi has revealed he would understand if he is sacked by Barcelona should he fail to inspire a turnaround at the Nou Camp.

The Blaugrana boss splashed close to £150million in the summer with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde all arriving.

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Barca also brought in Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, but their season is already under threat of collapse.

The Catalan club were knocked off top spot in LaLiga on Sunday as they lost 3-1 away to Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the campaign.

And they are in danger of a group stage exit in the Champions League after losing two out of their opening four games.

With Barca still to face Bayern Munich, it is a serious possibility they will drop down to the Europa League for the second successive season.

talkSPORT has been told that would be 'catastrophic' for the Catalan club's financial plans, with Barcelona aware they could be knocked out of the Champions League by the time they welcome Bayern to the Nou Camp next week.

Should Inter Milan beat Viktoria Plzen in next Wednesday's early kick-off, Barca would be resigned to playing in Europe's second-tier competition.

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Xavi knows that pressure is mounting on him to deliver, despite his side losing just once in their opening nine Spanish top-flight matches.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday's clash against Villarreal, Xavi was asked whether he would understand if he is axed.

To which he said: "Of course. It's football.

"People on the street raise their fists at me as a sign of encouragement.

"Now we have to continue and face reality, but I'm always positive.

"With the effort made by the club and the squad we have, we have to compete for trophies.

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"And if we don't win, as the president [Joan Laporta] said, there will be consequences, starting with me.

"If we don't win, another coach will come in. But I am going to give everything so that this works.''

He added: "The team's situation is what it is. We started like a shot and now we're not so good. 

"This doesn't stop me. We have to go step by step. We are three points behind the [LaLiga] leader and we have to continue.

"This is too long and we can't stop. The road from success to defeat is so small."