~~~
Here's what I think about the whole issue.
Barcelona is not in good place financially, so they knew that firing Xavi and hiring a new coach would be expensive for them, so I believe they were exploiting means to afford to let Xavi go and also afford a new top coach but they couldn't put all their eggs in one basket. They couldn't let Xavi go when they're not sure of a replacement or even sure if they can afford the replacement and afford Xavi's sacking, so what did they do? They convinced Xavi to stay. This way if they can't afford a new coach, Xavi stays, if they can afford a new coach, they fire Xavi. They had a fail safe and it turns out in the end Xavi got sacked and Flick was hired.
I feel bad for Xavi for been sacked in this way, but I can't blame Barcelona for doing what they did. Hard choices have to be made. They have to protect the interest of the club first before any other. Also, Xavi wasn't impressive this season so sacking him is not the worst of decisions.
Considering that Barcelona's finances have not improved, firing the coach should be a bad choice. I must say that Xavi's sacking as coach was the reason for how unprofessional Laporta was in solving internal problems and his ego in leading Barcelona, of course. It was a decision that seemed forced even though on the one hand Xavi was considered wrong, especially in making statements about the club's financial problems. Laporta was offended by this and his ego got Xavi fired after deciding to stay for next season.
Xavi is a good coach who has done various things to make Barcelona rise from adversity. Xavi doesn't get much budget support to strengthen his team, but he doesn't lack ways to make Barcelona have a reliable squad. Of course he has encountered unpleasant stories at Barcelona as a coach, even after bringing Barcelona back to life and competing for the title every season.