
Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, former Villarreal and Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has claimed that Xavi Hernandez was treated unfairly by Barcelona.
Cazorla played with Xavi for the Spanish national team and was later even under his management at Al Sadd in Qatar.
The 40-year-old, currently playing for his boyhood club Real Oviedo, opened up on his past interactions with Xavi and how the Barcelona legend had initially no plans of getting into management.
“Xavi once told me he hadn’t wanted to be a coach, but when he did the course something woke inside him,” revealed Cazorla.
Xavi coached Cazorla at Al Sadd from the summer of 2020 until November 2021, and the midfielder observed how the transition from player to coach had an effect on the Barcelona icon’s personality.
“As a player, Xavi was calm, reserved, and spoke in a low voice,” Cazorla said. “In his first half-time chat as my coach, he was super angry, banging his fist, throwing bottles. I thought it was not the same guy I knew.
“He told me later: ‘Santi, when you’re the coach, it’s all completely different. You’ll realise later if you want to do it yourself. You’ll need to change, to be able to manage a group of players.’”
Cazorla played under Xavi at Al Sadd. (Photo by Simon Holmes/Getty Images)
Talking about Xavi’s stint at Barcelona, Cazorla explained how the former midfielder took over the reins at the club when they were going through a difficult period and helped them challenge for titles again, while unearthing talents from La Masia.
And all this, Cazorla feels, was not valued by the club as they ended up sacking Xavi at the end of the last season.