Arsenal legend believes ‘undervalued’ Xavi does not get enough credit at Barcelona

Speaking in an interview recently, Arsenal legend Santi Cazorla has claimed that Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is ‘undervalued’ at the club despite the solid job he has done.

Xavi took over the reins at Barcelona in November 2021, arriving at a difficult time for the club to replace Ronald Koeman.

After leading the team to a commendable second-place finish in La Liga in 2021/22, Xavi coached the Blaugrana to the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles in his first full season in 2022/23.

However, some dodgy performances earlier this season brought about a lot of pressure on the manager, following which he announced that he would be leaving at the end of the campaign.

With things improving over the past few months, Barcelona have been trying to convince Xavi to stay, but he remains firm on his stance.

Xavi is undervalued, says Cazorla

Now, Cazorla, who played with Xavi for the Spanish national team, and under his management at Al-Sadd in Qatar, has claimed that the World Cup winner does not get enough credit for the job he has done at Barcelona.

“It’s sad that he suffers at home, he is undervalued,” said the veteran midfielder.

“Xavi arrived at one of the toughest moments in the club’s history, he won the league and the Super Cup, but it’s never enough,” he added.

Xavi is set to leave at the end of the season. (Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

On seeing a different side of Xavi

Cazorla also opened up on how he got to see a different side of Xavi once he became manager compared to what he was like as a player.

“Xavi surprised me. As a player he never raised his voice and now…,” he said. “The first day we were losing. I saw him throwing boots, swearing, shouting.”

Further discussing the matter, Cazorla added: “I asked him later, ‘Xavi, what happened to you today?’ He said: ‘I’ve completely changed. If you don’t do it, the dressing room doesn’t respect you’.

“I thought: ‘Do you really have to do it?’. I don’t see that in me, but then I didn’t see it in him either.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo