Xavi is ‘hurt and surprised’ by €80m Barcelona player’s statements – Report

FC Barcelona have been mixed up with all sorts of random news and gossip in recent years. Given the club’s infamous financial situation, it was hardly a surprise to see such controversy and news floating around. However, avoiding such information is something that Barcelona has put a lot of emphasis on.

Despite this emphasis on avoiding drama outside the club, the team has not always been able to do just that. Unfortunately, former coach Xavi Hernandez saw his words in the media be twisted as well and many believe it was ultimately the reason behind why he was sacked by the club.

Now, he has been succeeded by German coach Hansi Flick this season and the former Barcelona coach remains out of contract with any club as he stays a free agent for now. However, some recent words from Pedri have reportedly hurt the former first team coach.

According to SPORT, Pedri’s recent statement about the difference in how Hansi Flick’s intensity has been playing a role in helping Barcelona compared to how the team was during Xavi’s time has been seen as a problematic statement by the former coach and his camp, and it has ‘hurt and surprised’ his previous coach.

Believing that the former Barcelona icon and coach always defended the young 21-year-old midfielder, his recent statements are a form of betrayal. Even when the former Golden Boy winner was injured, Xavi continued to defend him and always gave him the feeling of being indispensable in his team.

However, Pedri’s acknowledgment that Barcelona seems to work harder now than before feels like a clearly misleading comment to both Xavi and his closest associates. Moreover, SPORT has highlighted that the coach also never rushed the player while he was injured and this constant communication and deployment based on how Pedri was feeling was something that Xavi always focused on to help the youngster return with ease.

An unfortunate occurrence, if true, because of how close Pedri and Xavi seemed to be. While his time as a coach may have passed, the Egarense native will always be a Barcelona icon and even his time as a manager should be remembered fondly for bringing about new talents and even helping the team win some major titles.