Xavi Hernandez was, along with Robert Lewandowski, the centre of attention of the last training session before the match between Barça and Juventus at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, the third friendly of their tour of the United States. The coach refused to comment on Koundé, but he did talk about his role in convincing players to come to FC Barcelona like with Lewandowski and Raphinha, and he admitted that Barça’s history and charisma as a club, were the main attraction.On Sevilla’s centre-back, he only said:
“The club is working to strengthen, but I can not talk about names that we do not have in the squad. We will see. If we have to make something official, we will say so.”
On why the great players wanted to come, he emphasized that the club’s history played a part:
“The greatness of the club at the global level, its history, and the fact that there is an exciting project also help. Clear communication to the player from the sports management, the president and even the coach in many cases… But I would say that it is Barça. Even after a not-so-good period, it is still Barça and people are excited to play here. There is excitement to get back to the top. That players of the stature of Lewandowski want to come here is a sign of Barça’s success”. “We are FC Barcelona, we go to Australia, to the United States, and people are passionate about Barça. And when you see people getting excited, when newcomers like Christensen, Kessie, Raphinha, Lewandowski see that, they see Barça’s greatness”, he added.
Xavi, a Barça man to the core, is also giving his all when it comes to signing new players:
“I get involved because that’s the way I am, when I do something I give one hundred per cent. Otherwise, I would stay at home. I want them to come here, to enjoy themselves, to make them feel important, to explain the game plan to them, but the Barça tag helps, it’s a magnet for footballers”.
He also praised the Barça administration, without whom none of this would be possible:
“The work that Mateu and Jordi are doing is extraordinary, regardless of my involvement. The president instils a lot of confidence in us. I feel very comfortable, we are a family, everyone has a role to play and we are all important. We have an exciting project and plan to win titles.”
On the departures, he said the four players who stayed at Barcelona know that they have to leave:
“I was very clear with them, since May, and they are looking for solutions. We are trying to help them so that they can have the opportunity to play because here I told them that it will be impossible. We have time, they do too but they know the situation”.
Asked about the team for Juventus tie, he revealed that Ferran Torres, who has not yet recovered from his foot injury, will not be playing.
“He has a wound and it bothers him, it is the shooting area, tomorrow (today) he will not be able to participate”.
Leo Messi?
Questions were also posed about the possible reunion of Leo Messi with Barça:
“Yes, but Leo has a contract, it is impossible as of now. He is the best player in the world in history, and the president has already said that hopefully, Messi’s history with Barça has not come to an end,” he admitted.
Even so, he made it clear that he backs his current team:
“It is not Leo’s time, but of the players we have.” He also had more words of praise for Lewandowski. “If you have the opportunity to sign a player like that, a top player, humble, professional. He is helping us a lot. His adaptation, his professionalism, everything is good and the team is growing a lot with him,” he concluded.
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