You’d have thought that Xavi has seen it all as a player.
But it turns out that one thing that the Barcelona legend has never experienced in his career is football fans accepting sub-standard performances.
The midfielder matured into one of the greatest players of all time in his 20 years at the Camp Nou and Xavi, currently captaining Al Sadd in Qatar, felt the full pressure of his fans’ refusal to accept anything less than perfection.
If Barcelona failed to deliver they were typically torn asunder by supporters, which is why the Spaniard was so surprised when fellow countryman Juan Mata told him of Manchester United fans’ reaction to the club’s seventh placed Premier League finish under David Moyes.
Speaking to ESPNFC.com, Xavi said: “Juan Mata told me a story last year. He said that when Manchester United finished seventh (in 2013-14), the fans applauded the team at the end of the season.
“Seventh! If that happened to us in Barcelona, they’d want to kill us in our cars!”
