Barcelona legend announces he will leave the club for Al Sadd in the summer
Thursday 21 May 2015 16:54, UK
As Barcelona legend Xavi announces his departure from the club to join Al Sadd, we look at his tributes over the years.
Xavi, 35, announced in a press conference on Thursday that he had been offered a new contract at Barcelona, but admitted it was time to leave the club he had been with since his youth.
Xavi has won eight titles with Barcelona and three Champions League trophies, as well as picking up 133 caps for Spain, but who said what about him?
Lionel Messi: “It was a pleasure to be next to Xavi. He is a different player who makes things look easy. He sees passes that only he sees.”
Sir Alex Ferguson (after 2009 Champions League final defeat): “It wasn't really Messi who was the problem. It was Iniesta and Xavi. They can keep the ball all night long.”
Pep Guardiola: “Xavi is a player who has the Barcelona DNA, someone who has the taste for good football, someone who stays humble and someone who has loyalty to his club.”
Johann Cruyff: “If Xavi has a bad day, Barcelona do not play half as well as usual. He dominates the rhythm of the game. His play allows the team to function. He is different.”
Sandro Rosell (Barcelona president 2010-2014): “Tiki-taka is Xavi’s registered trademark. The day he is not here, I don’t know if we will be able to continue with it.”
Dani Alves: “While we live in the present, Xavi lives in the future. He thinks ahead of everyone and he makes everything so much easier.”
Vicente del Bosque: "Xavi has been a key man in the run we have had in Spanish football. It's hard to find a player coming through who can replace him. He is irreplaceable."
Sergio Busquets: “He’s an example for me and for all the players coming out of the youth system and trying to get into the first team.”
Iker Casillas: “People ask me every year who I would take out of the Barcelona team to give us a greater chance of winning. Every year I tell them the same. Xavi. His control and use of the ball makes him their best player.”
And some from the man himself...
“I’d love to be faster. Physically I’m limited, but I’ve survived by using my head.”
“Paul Scholes is a role model. For me – and I really mean this – he's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 15, 20 years.”
"I'm a romantic. I like the fact that talent, technical ability, is valued above physical condition now. I'm glad that's the priority. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be the same spectacle. Football is played to win but our satisfaction is double."
"In England, footballers are respected more, the game is more noble, there's less cheating. Every Spaniard who goes loves it - and comes back a better player. If I had ever left, it would have been to England."
