Luka Modric has never had it easy, but his brand of football early in his professional career caught the eye of Slaven Bilic, the Croatia head coach at the time. On the occasion of Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Chelsea, Modric invited Bilic to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu 18 years after he went to watch him play for Inter Zapresic. "From the beginning I lik...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi says transfer plans are already underway. Barcelona are already planning for next season, though their Champions League status is yet to be confirmed. "We are planning, but we also depend on the economic situation," Xavi confessed. "We are keeping an eye on the situation. For people to come in, they also have to leave. "There are positions that we don't have cover for,...Full Story »

Xavi Hernandez said Barcelona is the "most difficult club in the world" because of the demands on his team to win while playing good football. Barca face Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal at Camp Nou on Thursday after a 1-1 draw in Germany last week. Xavi, who has taken Barca from ninth in LaLiga to second since replacing Ronald Koeman in November, has...Full Story »

Xavi Hernandez says Barcelona are not dependent on Pedri after the youngster produced another game-changing performance in Sunday's thrilling 3-2 win over Levante. Pedri, 19, scored the only goal in last week's 1-0 win against Sevilla and he came off the bench against Levante to score Barca's second goal as they came from behind at the Ciudad de Valencia stadium. "I wouldn't say that," Xavi ...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez isn't playing down the importance of their game against Sevilla this weekend, with LaLiga Santander returning from the March international break. The two face off in a game that will likely be decisive in the race for second place, but the Catalans are coming into it as Spain's form side. "It's a final for us," Xavi said at his press conference. "We have the ch...Full Story »

Xavi Hernandez is refusing to rule out a late run for the title and Gerard Pique proclaimed Barcelona are back after they hammered Real Madrid 4-0 in Sunday's Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. A Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double and further goals from Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres ended Barca's six-game winless run against Madrid, dating back to 2019, and cut the gap on Carlo Ancelotti's side ...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi says he'd welcome back Leo Messi. Messi is being linked with a move away from PSG this summer. "He is the best in history and he'll always be welcome at Barcelona," said Xavi. "As long as I'm coach, it doesn't matter if he wants to come here every day. I think we owe him a huge amount. "He has a contract with PSG and there is little we can say. Like whether he wants to...Full Story »

Barcelona manager Xavi was the only man to spot a mistake in the statue commemorating Diego Maradona inside Napoli's stadium. Maradona, who died in 2020, played for both Barcelona and Napoli in his career with both clubs facing off in the Europa League round of 32. Thursday saw Xavi take his Barcelona side to the Diego Maradona Stadium and inside is a tribute to the Argentina legend. The 42...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi insists the LaLiga title race is within reach. The Catalans' realistic target this season has been qualifying for the Champions League, but Xavi feels the team can do even better ahead of the derby against Espanyol. "We're not ruling anything out, but the distance is difficult," he said at his press conference in regards to a title challenge. "The goal is to finish in t...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez asked fans not to boo Ousmane Dembele after he was jeered as he returned to the squad for Sunday's thrilling 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou. Dembele has not featured for Barca since Jan. 12 because of a failure to agree a new contract, with his terms up in the summer, but Xavi said he will look to use him after he failed to secure a move away from t...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi admits he wants to see Ronald Araujo secured to a new deal. Xavi says Araujo needs to stay at the club and get a new deal signed, with his current contract expiring in 2023. "It's a priority, Ronald gives us a lot. In reality we are very happy with his performance," said Xavi. "We will see if the club reaches an agreement with him and his agent." There is interest from...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi has said his club will make a specific plan to ensure that Ansu Fati does not get hurt again after the forward injured his hamstring. Barca will decide on Monday if Ansu is to undergo surgery after sustaining a tendon injury in the left hamstring during Thursday's 3-2 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey. "We have had a meeting with the family and on Monday we wil...Full Story »

As a footballer, you would think being one of the select few players to cross the Merseyside divide would be what people remember you for, but when it comes to Abel Xavier, that simply isn't the case. The Portuguese defender hit the headlines when he made the controversial move from Everton to Liverpool back in January of 2002, but that wasn't the only thing that got people talking. It was, in...Full Story »

Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has taken to social media on Thursday, to send a simple message to Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez. Valverde makes the difference The latest edition of El Clasico was of course played out a little over 24 hours ago. The matchup came in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup, where the aforementioned Real and Barca locked horns for the 2nd time this season. ...Full Story »

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez lauded his team's performance against Real Madrid on Wednesday despite going down 3-2 after extra time in a thrilling Spanish Supercopa semifinal in Saudi Arabia. Federico Valverde struck the winner in the 98th minute as Madrid recorded their 100th Clasico win after Luuk de Jong and Ansu Fati had earlier cancelled out goals from Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema...Full Story »

Manager Xavi Hernandez has said Wednesday's Spanish Supercopa semifinal against Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia could serve to kickstart Barcelona's season. Barca have shown signs of improvement since Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman as coach in November, climbing to within one point of the top four in LaLiga, but have yet to find any sort of consistency. They go into the Clasico on the back of a disap...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has said it is "crazy" this weekend's match against Mallorca is going ahead following a COVID-19 outbreak at the Catalan club. Barca have 10 confirmed positive cases among their first-team squad and a further seven players either suspended, injured or a doubt for the game at San Moix. However, LaLiga rules state that fixtures should be played if clubs have at lea...Full Story »

Barcelona dropped yet more points in LaLiga Santander on Sunday, conceding an 86th minute equaliser in their clash with Osasuna, and Xavi was frustrated and suggested that it was difficult to accept that it was the team's younger players who were propping up the team. Gavi, Nico and Abde were all exceptional in the match, by far the Cules' best performers, yet this left the coach frustrated a...Full Story »

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has said he believes his team can beat Bayern Munich in their crucial Champions League clash next week despite being dealt a reality check by Real Betis on Saturday. Juanmi's second-half goal earned Betis a 1-0 win in LaLiga at Camp Nou as Xavi suffered his first defeat since replacing Ronald Koeman in November. Barca's next game is a daunting trip to Munich on...Full Story »

Barcelona is desperate to meet new manager Xavi's request to sign Manchester City's Ferran Torres. However, decimated finances are set to cause the Catalan side a headache when it comes to finding a way to stump up the massive transfer fee required. Therefore, in an effort to seal the deal, according to recent reports, the Spanish giants are opening to offering Pep Guardiola a player in exchan...Full Story »