As President Joan Laporta himself admitted in an interview, Xavi’s status as a legend of FC Barcelona was one of the reasons why the club would allow him to end the season and leave the club on his own terms.
There is no doubt that Xavi was one of the most loved players for Barcelona fans, and his iconic midfield partnership with Andres Iniesta will forever be remembered by Cules. What made this partnership even more special was the deep friendship and closeness that these two players enjoyed, both on and off the pitch.
As things stand, this friendship between the two former Barcelona players is still strong, and this was clear from a recent interview with Andres Iniesta, which has been reported by Mundo Deportivo.
Iniesta highlighted how much Barcelona meant for Xavi Hernandez, and also shared how he himself suffers because of the current state of affairs at the club:
“I suffer with him. As a fan and as a friend. Because I know how much coaching Barcelona meant to him and how much he cares about this club. He put incredible passion into it, and nobody wants things to go well more than him.”
“Not for himself or for personal glory, but for the club he loves. It’s clear that if he has decided to resign, it’s only for the good of Barcelona.”
While everyone is aware of where his heart lies, Iniesta was still unable to pick a favorite for the match between Barcelona and Napoli.
“It’s a challenging, open challenge, difficult to pinpoint a favorite. Barcelona did well in the first leg, but didn’t win. And Napoli has improved over these three weeks, they’ve had more positive feelings related to the change of coach.”
However, for Barcelona, Iniesta was confident that playing at home would be a big advantage. Still, he also admitted that: “Montjuïc isn’t Camp Nou, that’s evident.”
In addition to supporting his beloved club Barcelona, Iniesta is still playing and recently reached the monumental milestone of getting 1000 professional appearances. Barcelona fans will be happy for their former midfielder, and will be hoping he can return in some capacity to the club in the years to come.
