Xavi: “Busquets is the smartest player who played with me”

Four rounds to the end of the season, tomorrow (Sunday, 22:00) Barcelona will be able to secure their first championship since 2019 and 27th in their history, and also against city rival Espanyol, with whom they will be hosted at the RCDE Stadium.

“This is our first chance to win the championship and we are excited,” he said Xavi at the press conference before the game, but also complimented the opponent’s coach, Luis Garcia, against whom he still had time to play in the city derby: “They improved a lot in everything, they signed an excellent coach. I will be very excited to win the championship, I don’t care if it’s a derby. We win the title Against all teams, not just against Espanyol.”

Sergio Busquets announced that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season, and Xavi, who shared a legendary link with him in Barcelona and in the Spanish national team, said of him: “He is the smartest footballer I played with, it was great to have him as captain. It is special for him to start the team and win titles and it will mean a lot to him To leave as champion. His departure will hurt, but I think he is making a good personal decision.”

The person who is expected to be invited to the celebrations is another symbol of the team, Gerard Pique, who retired during the season: “He is a special case because he retired, he did not leave for another team as in other cases. We thought about it and will invite him to celebrate the championship with us.”

The latest statistics do not play in Barcelona’s favor, after the first derby of the season they finished 1:1 against Espanyol, and have not beaten the city rival away since the championship season, when they defeated them 0:4 in December 2018. The game itself is considered high risk, and Espanyol appointed A special security team will surround the stadium before, during and after the game.

At the same time, the coach also referred to the changes in the professional management, after Matteo Almani announced that he will leave at the end of the season and Jordi Cruyff’s future is also unclear: “Like Matteo, Jordi is a loyal, reliable and capable person. We need to decide what the sports structure will look like. He helped me Very much, whether you stay or leave, I have to thank him for that. After Matteo’s departure, we’ll see what the sports management will look like. Meanwhile, in “Mundo Deportivo” it was announced in the meantime that the president Juan Laporte met with Cruyff and made it clear to him that he is building on him, and the Dutchman who ends his contract at the end of the season will give him an answer soon.