Featured Image Credit: MARCA
Topics: Xavi, Barcelona, Premier League, Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola
Luke Davies
Topics: Xavi, Barcelona, Premier League, Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola
Legendary former Barcelona midfielder Xavi has already named his all-time British XI and some of his picks may surprise you.
Xavi, 45, is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation having formed a formidable partnership in Barcelona’s midfield with Andres Iniesta.
During his time at the Catalan club, he won 25 trophies including four Champions League’s and eight La Liga’s just to mention a few of his many achievements during his 767 appearances for Barca.
Of course, he played for arguably the greatest manager of all-time, Pep Guardiola, and alongside many people’s best player ever Lionel Messi.
Guardiola’s Barca side faced British opposition on several occasions with notable victories coming against Manchester United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.
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But who does Xavi consider to be the best British players of all-time?
Well, the 2010 World Cup winner put together his all-time British XI when speaking to Shortlist in 2014.
Arguably one of the most surprising selections was goalkeeper Fraser Forster who he described as the ‘keeper who made “some of the best saves I have ever seen”.
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He opted for a strong all-English centre-back trio of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Sol Campbell. Moving into the midfielder – Xavi’s position of expertise – he chose Paul Scholes, who he described as “technically the best English player since Matt Le Tissier, who I grew up watching. Just unbelievably gifted. Every time I played against him or watched him on TV he made everything look so easy”.
The Spaniard also picked Paul Gascoigne, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard with him describing the latter as “one of the few midfield players in the world with the goal-scoring record of a striker”.
Then another shock player he named was former Arsenal, Everton, and Southampton winger Theo Walcott.
“We were playing Arsenal in London [in 2010], and we were winning 2-0, in total control,” Xavi explained in 2014.
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“There was no way we should have done anything but win the game. Then they introduced Theo Walcott. He changed the game for them, and it finished 2-2. We didn’t know how to deal with his pace.”
And less surprisingly he named Wayne Rooney as Walcott’s strike partner.
"He would have fitted into our style of play no problem, but Manchester United would never have wanted to let one of the best players in the world leave," the Spaniard said when speaking about Rooney.