Xavi spoke about Kounde’s situation, his priority signing, Ansu Fati’s continuity, Leo Messi’s return, Pablo Torre’s game time, Kimmich’s qualities, Vinicius being targeted, Deco’s potential arrival and Nico’s return after completion of his loan spell in his pre-match press conference ahead of Barcelona vs Real Valladolid.
Xavi on the match against Valladolid:
“We want to beat Valladolid. No doubts. We want to win every match and defend our prestigious image“
Xavi on Kounde:
“Kounde played a lot of minutes. There is a time when the body tells you enough is enough. He has just some muscle discomfort.”
Xavi on his priority signing:
“Signing a right-back is not the first priority, signing a pivot is because Busquets is leaving.”
Xavi on Vinicius’s situation:
“Unfortunately. There are still cases of racism and it’s unfortunate. Any act of racism, like the one we saw towards Vinícius, must be condemned. Before being a Real Madrid player, Vinicius is a human. You have to defend him and I use my position as the Barca coach to defend him.”
Xavi on the need for support from fans next season:
“Next season will not be easy, we have to play in the Montjuïc. We need the same support and love from our fans as we got this year.”
Xavi on Ansu Fati’s continuity:
“We have not decided anything with anyone yet. We’re waiting for La Liga to give the approval on our feasibility plan, then we’ll see everything.”
Kimmich and Zubimendi being linked to Barca:
“Kimmich is a spectacular player, one of the best in the world in his position. And I do not want to be disrespectful towards Sociedad because their director was upset about me talking about Zubimendi.”
Xavi on Pablo Torre:
“Pablo Torre will have minutes tomorrow, just like others who’ve played less.”
Xavi on Messi’s return:
“It depends on a lot of things, that’s all I can say. He’s a spectacular footballer and we’ll see what happens. It will also depend a lot on Leo’s intentions.”
Xavi on Nico:
“Nico played a great game against Real Madrid yesterday. He’s doing well at Valencia now after being out of action for 3 months. We’ll see what we decide with him.”
Xavi on Deco’s potential arrival:
“I have had a friendly relationship with him for a long time. There is nothing official yet, so I won’t talk about it.”
