Every word of Xavi's X-rated rant at the referee during Barcelona's defeat to Paris Saint-Germain has been revealed.
On Tuesday Barcelona suffered a crushing defeat in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against PSG, losing 4-1 on the night to los 6-4 on aggregate.
The Spanish giants went into the match confident of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2019, having won 3-2 in Paris last week.
However, after taking an early lead through Raphina, things fell apart after Ronald Araujo was shown a straight red card for committing a last man foul.
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Former Barca man Ousmane Dembele pulled a goal back for PSG just before half-time, and the French side ran riot in the second half with goals from Vitinha and Kylian Mbappe.
Barca only had themselves to blame, as poor defensive decisions cost them a man on the field as well as two goals.
However, manager Xavi - who will leave the club at the end of the season - focussed much of his energy of criticising the match officials.
The former Barca midfielder launched an expletive tirade against the referee during the second half and was subsequently shown a red card.
Now, thanks to audio picked up by pitch side microphones, we know exactly what he said.
Reacting to a tackle he felt should have earned a PSG player a yellow card, the literal translation of what Xavi shouted is as follows:
"Your wh*** mother! Don't f*** with me man! Your wh*** mother! Come on man! Come on, show it [the card]! Your wh*** mother!
"Fourth [official]. This is f****** great, eh? Eh? Bas****."
It should be noted that in Spain, 'tu puta madre' is a strong insult that literally translates to 'your wh*** mother'. It's often used during arguments to annoy the other person.
However, when not said directly to a person, it can mean more along the lines of 'Goddamnit'.
However, 'de puta madre' - which is what Xavi said directly to the fourth official, means 'this is f****** great'. Clearly, Xavi was being sarcastic.
Xavi's last word to the fourth official was 'cabron', which is a very strong Spanish insult that roughly translates to 'ba*****'.
"The referee was really bad. I told him his performance was a disaster. I don't like to talk about referees, but it had a clear impact in the season and it has to be said," Xavi told Movistar Plus after the match.
It remains to be seen what punishment Xavi receives for his outburst and sending off.
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Topics: Barcelona, Champions League, Football, Paris Saint-Germain, Xavi
Alex Brotherton