Having now firmly established himself as a manager with around five years of experience, Xavi is one of football’s greatest-ever midfielders. As a boss, the Spaniard was most recently with Barcelona, who he managed between 2021 and 2024, having spent two years prior to that in Qatar as manager of Al Sadd.
Those two clubs are the only ones that Xavi represented as a player. The midfielder was a product of the famous La Masia academy and had become part of the Barca first team by 1998 at just 18 years of age. Xavi, who made his international debut for Spain in the year 2000, is one of the best and most-capped players in Barcelona history.
Xavi won a multitude of honours in Catalonia and under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, with whom Xavi won three La Liga tiles, two Copa del Rey cups and two Champions Leagues, was part of perhaps the most dominant midfield in history, alongside compatriots Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.
In 2015, with nearly two decades of senior service under his belt, Xavi, after winning his fourth Champions League, departed Barca for Al Sadd, where he retired four years later. At his peak, Xavi was undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, something that he displayed both for Barcelona and on international duty with Spain, helping guide his country to two European Championships and a World Cup between 2008 and 2012.
Lionel Messi, a teammate of Xavi’s at Barcelona, has long been regarded as being one of the best, if not the absolute best, footballers ever. Xavi once shared who could perhaps replace Messi as the world’s greatest and made a similar claim about this particular player back in 2019, as per Sky Sports.
‘Can Be The World’s Best’
Xavi was full of praise for England star
When Xavi spoke, it was at the outset of the 2019/20 season, a campaign that marked the first of four consecutive Premier League titles for Manchester City. Guardiola’s side, who won a European treble in the 2022/23 term, were on the road to becoming England’s most-dominant team and a large factor in that was Raheem Sterling.
The winger, who joined City in 2015, enjoyed his best form in Manchester towards the latter years of his tenure, something that Xavi evidently picked up on by comparing him to some truly stellar names. The Spaniard said:
“(Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo have dominated the best-player-in-the-world awards for so many years now, it’s hard to remember a time before them. Messi is the best ever for me and even though they’re both still playing at a very high level, there will come the day not so long away when somebody else must step into those shoes.
“You look at young players who can be crowned the future best in the world and you still think of Neymar, (Kylian) Mbappe, (Mohamed) Salah and of course (Raheem) Sterling. I look at the moment and Sterling is winning that race.
“He’s always been a good player, a dangerous player, but under Pep he has become one of the best in the world. I know how Pep (Guardiola) works - he would have worked closely with him since his arrival - where he needs to improve and what he needed to work on. We’re now seeing the result of that - he’s still young and can be the world’s best.”
Across seven years with City, Sterling showed glimpses of realising his potential, which had been apparent from his 2012 debut with Liverpool. Since departing in 2022, however, the former England international has struggled for consistency. After a lacklustre two years with Chelsea, Sterling spent the 2024/25 term on loan with Arsenal, though did little in North London.
Raheem Sterling 24/25 Season Stats
Competition
Premier League
Champions League
League Cup
FA Cup
Sterling reaching the heights that Xavi projected of him now appears unlikely. Still just 30 years old, however, the winger will surely hope that he can rediscover something close to his previous form in the coming campaign.
( All stats are fromTransfermarktand are correct as of 19/06/2025 )
Xavi during his time in the Barcelona dugout Related
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