Xavi’s press conference ahead of the game against Real Betis. He spoke about Lamine Yamal, the team’s spirit, his renewal, Abde, Ferran Torres, Pedri, Araujo’s return.
Barcelona are unbeaten in this new La Liga campaign (3W, 1D), Barcelona have scored 8 goals during this period. Real Betis will enter this game as the underdog as their manager Manuel Pellegrini has lost more games against barca than any other club (5W, 4D, 24L).
Here is what Xavi had to say ahead of the game;
Xavi on Lamine Yamal: We will take care of Yamal, he has personality and he doesn’t have a problem. Bojan’s role will be important for him.
Xavi on his renewal: I had a conversation with Deco, the president and also Alemany. The coach has to perform. It is about achieving success, titles and not long contracts. My renewal will be announced very soon, no problem about it.
Xavi on Abde: We have a buy back option, he left due to a personal reason. He wanted to start every game, play every minute and we can’t guarantee that in a club like Barcelona.
Xavi on Ferran Torres: Ferran has a great personality, people criticized him but he proved them wrong. We believe in him a lot.
Xavi on Araujo’s return: If everything goes well, Araujo will return this week.
Xavi on Pedri: Pedri is working hard to return, we will not take any risk with him, what is happening right now has already happened before. He will come back stronger.
Xavi on the squad and the project: I am happy and the project is well on course. We arrive well into this game, all the players who returned from their national team are available for selection. We will play against a tough side.
That’s all Xavi had to say, we hope to see a great game play from the team tonight.