Xavi says he has a “great relationship” with Luis Enrique after the Paris Saint-Germain head coach had earlier said his style of football embodies Barcelona better than former midfielder’s current side.
The two teams meet each other in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.
Luis Enrique spent eight years at Barcelona as a player and a further three as manager winning the La Liga title and the Champions League during his first year in charge, in what was Xavi’s final season as a Barca player.
He won eight major trophies after taking the managerial post in 2014 playing an attacking, fluid and possession-based style of football.
Asked who represents Barcelona’s style best out of the two of them as coaches, Luis Enrique replied: “Me, without any doubt. Look at the data, in possession of the ball, in scoring chances, in high pressing…
“Look at the titles, the trophies. It’s not an opinion, it’s data. Without any doubt, me! Others may have a different opinion”.
Luis Enrique coached Xavi at Barcelona (Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images)
Xavi, who himself won the league title in his first full season in charge of the club, attempted to play down talk of oneupmanship ahead of the game at the Parc des Princes.
“I’ve seen him, he’s Luis Enrique,” Xavi said when asked to respond to his former team-mate’s comments.
“I know him very well, I have a great relationship with him. He has a team built to win the Champions League, we are facing a very difficult opponent and we are both looking for a similar style.
“We can boast the Barca DNA, Luis Enrique, Pep (Guardiola) or (Mikel) Arteta. Tomorrow we’ll be looking for the same thing, from here on it’s up to the players to find the DNA that identifies us”.
Pressed further, Xavi added: “I’ve already said that we’re both looking for the same thing, maybe I’m a bit better than him, but we’re both looking for exactly the same thing. There is no more controversy”.
PSG have never won the Champions League while Barca’s last triumph was 2014, when Xavi was captain.
Xavi believes the French side should go into the tie as favourites and pointed to their signing of Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona last summer as a clear sign of that.
“It’s not a strategy, I really think so,” he said. “I think they are favourites, they have taken Dembele away from us, they have spent a lot more than us.
“They are a team made to win the Champions League, I know them well, they are from Qatar and that is their main objective. It’s not a strategy, if it frees up the players, fine, but I think so”.
(Alexander Hassenstein – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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