Barcelona manager Xavi admits losing Ousmane Dembele to PSG is a blow.
The attacker has left for PSG in a €50m deal.
Xavi lamented, “I can give you my assessment since I’ve been here. We were betting on him and it has been a big disappointment. We wanted him very much here and we have a great project.
Xavi also said that Dembele “is a good guy” and was treated with “special affection”.
“It was his decision and we accepted it,” added the coach.
Barcelona manager Xavi has declared he wants to see Lionel Messi re-signed.
Xavi insists the PSG attacker would improve his La Liga title winners.
He told Sport, “Right now there’s no doubt [Messi] would help us.
“Leo could play in various positions: false nine, winger, in midfield, or even as a no.10, arriving to play the final ball.
“He has become almost a central midfielder, almost an attacking midfielder, and he has that ability at the end of the day.
“At the World Cup we saw Messi at an unbelievable level.
“I think he has many years left in him, at a good level.”
Xavi also said: “For me it makes sense. There’s no doubt that if Messi returns it would help is in a football sense.
“I’ve told the president that. I have no doubt…because he is still a player who can make the difference, he’s still hungry, he’s a winner, a leader, and he’s also a different player.
“We don’t have a Barcelona team with the talent of 2010…[Messi] would bring talent, the final ball, set pieces, goals…”
Barcelona manager Xavi insists he’s not spoken to Ansu Fati about his future.
It’s been suggested Fati was offered to Arsenal this week.
But Xavi says he’s not met with Fati to consider next season: “I haven’t spoken to him about his future.
“We don’t know the fair play situation. When we know, we’ll plan the arrivals and departures.”
Fati is a prime player to be sold as Barca seek to meet LaLiga’s financial controls.
Barcelona manager Xavi had a mixed reaction with fans chanting ‘Lionel Messi’ during their 0-0 draw with Girona.
The chants were made at the Nou Camp on Monday night as the PSG star is linked with a return to the Blaugrana.
Xavi reacted, stating: “The mood is positive. I think people value where we came from but we still need to get this title.
“As for Leo, I see that he generates illusion. They have been chanting his name for two games but we will see if it happens. Today I was watching a program on TV and I heard that it was the cheapest League in recent years. And this, to say the least, surprises me.
“And it annoys me. We are in the post-Messi era, we are making a titanic effort and I don’t like it.”
Barcelona manager, Xavi has state4d reasons why his team lost to Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday,
Xavi said his side didn’t pay attention to details and paid dearly to it.
The Catalans arrived in the UK for the second leg of their Europa League Round of 32 clash with a 2-2 result.
Manchester united defeated Barcelona by 2-1 at the Old Trafford and progressed to the round of 16 in the Europa league.
Robert Lewandowski gave Barca the lead from the penalty spot, before United rallied back thanks to goals from Fred and Antony to win the tie.
“Last season, it was impossible to compete.
“This season was different. We competed well, but the small details make the difference.
“We have to learn from our mistakes and be ready for next season,” Xavi told reporters after the game.
Barcelona return to LaLiga action on Sunday at Almeria, before travelling to bitter rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Thursday.
Barcelona remains on course to win the La Liga title but have Real Madrid to contend with.
Barcelona coach Xavi admits he has injury concerns facing Manchester United in their Europa League playoff second-leg.
The tie is delicately poised following last week’s thrilling 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp.
And Barca boss Xavi is facing a potential selection headache ahead of Thursday’s return fixture.
Gavi’s yellow card in the first leg means he is suspended, while Pedri is also out after he limped off in the same game.
But elsewhere, Xavi has been left sweating on whether key duo Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong will be match fit.
The Barca gaffer said: “Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski played more minutes.
“I think they have been playing a lot of minutes, that’s why I made the changes. The other day Pedri was injured, and we can’t afford more injuries.
“Let’s prepare for Thursday’s game from tomorrow and see how tired they are.”
FC Barcelona’s manager Xavi says the club have been handed the toughest possible draw after being paired with Manchester United in the Europa League’s knockout round play-offs.
Barca will compete in the Europa League after the turn of the year as a result of their failure to advance from a UEFA Champions League group containing Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
They have now suffered successive group-stage eliminations from the UEFA Champions League for just the second time, having also done so under Louis van Gaal in the 1997/1998 and 1998/1999 campaigns.
The Blaugrana were beaten by eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the last eight of the Europa League last term, and Xavi said they had been unfortunate once again following Monday’s draw.
“We will have to compete, going to Manchester against a really tough rival,” Xavi said ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Osasuna in La Liga.
“It’s a historic rival that has grown a lot with the arrival of Erik ten Hag, with great individual players. We have been given the most difficult rival, yet again, in the Europa League.
“It’s a massive challenge for us, our players will probably be more motivated against a strong team.”
Barca’s next European tie will see them reunited with their old foe Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 20 goals in 34 games against the Blaugrana.
He scored against them in La Liga (nine), the UEFA Champions League (two), the Copa del Rey (five), and the Supercopa de Espana (four).
Xavi refuted suggestions the Manchester United striker is in decline in spite of his struggles this season, adding: “He seems to me to be a great player who has marked an era, and he can still make a difference.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta says coach Xavi understands the club system perfectly and also retains the board’s confidence.
Barca are reeling after their draw with Inter Milan left their chances of reaching the Champions League round of 16 hanging by a thread.
Ahead of Sunday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid, Laporta stressed that “confidence in Xavi remains intact, yes, of course.” And he added: “He knows the club and the system perfectly. He is a great person, a great coach, who will give us more success.”
Laporta revealed how he found Xavi after the draw against Inter.
“I saw him sad, touched, hurt. This also affected me because we were all touched,” he admitted. But he stressed that “Xavi has a virtue, that no one I’ve ever met has. Once we’re in a difficult situation, he immediately sees the positive side.”
The president also explained that he encouraged Xavi: “I told him to go ahead. Let’s not think about the Champions League anymore and we are going to focus on the League. We are on the same page, convinced and focused on LaLiga.
“We all had many illusions deposited in continuity in the Champions League, but after going through a few touched moments, I already see him strong. We will see each other tomorrow, we will go to Madrid together. It is an important game, at the Bernabéu, a game that we like to play.”
Espanyol striker Martin Braithwaite reveals he had to leave Barcelona because Xavi did not believe in him while at Camp Nou.
The Dane insists there’s no bitterness towards former club Barcelona.
Braithwaite was told by Barca coach Xavi to find a new club while they wanted to rescind his contract, which led to criticism from the Danish Association of Footballers, whose president said the forward had been “bullied.”
“I knew for a while I had to leave,” Braithwaite said. “I wanted to play football and the coach did not believe in me, so I there was nothing else for it. There were moments when I thought I could change things, but others when you realise it is not possible.”
The former Barça man has made a quick start at Barça’s rivals Espanyol, scoring two goals in three games, and he says the move came down to several factors.
“Espanyol was the offer which most attracted me, it was perfect,” he added. “The most important for me was the project and the next step in my career. But at the same time, I could stay in Barcelona with the family, the kids could stay at the same school. That helped.”
LA Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig has revealed his disappointment at Barcelona coach Xavi.
Puig left Barca for Los Angeles this month and has been open about his frustrations last season.
In his latest interview with Fox, Puig said: “It was a total disappointment, and again more so after these seven years.
“I stayed in Barcelona while all my teammates were playing in Los Angeles. It hurt me a lot. The pressure on the players? You can definitely act another way. But I have to thank Barcelona because they are the one that I am, even if I have never had a coach who fully trusted me.
“As a player you can lose confidence but you can never lose continuity.”