Xavi, one of the greatest midfielders of all-time, has picked his five-a-side team and good luck getting the ball off them.
The Spanish and Barcelona maestro was the beating heart of a team that dominated world football, and to many, remains the best club side ever to play the game.
With the former Barca captain now retired, he was asked by Soccer Bible to name his all-time five-a-side team and here’s who he came up with:
Iker Casillas
Xavi’s biggest difficulty in choosing a play came between the sticks because, to be fair, he had plenty of options to choose from.
While his Barcelona team was arguably the greatest of all-time and had Victor Valdes anchoring it, he crossed the dive and picked Real Madrid and Spain captain Casillas.
As captain and vice-captain of their teams, the two were at the centre of the Barca-Madrid rivalry but the toxic atmosphere threatened to disrupt the national team, it was Casillas who reached out to Xavi for peace talks.
While that enabled Spain to function, it cost Casillas, who was benched by Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and eventually left in a manner which Xavi said “stinks.”
But the Spanish shotstopper is undeniably an all-time great and as important as Andres Iniesta’s goal in the World Cup final was, Casillas’ save to deny Arjen Robben a few minutes previously was just as pivotal.
Andres Iniesta
Speaking of Iniesta, it should come as no surprise that Xavi’s midfield partner has made the list.
Only Carles Puyol played with Xavi more times than Iniesta did and in the 486 times they shared the pitch, Xavi and Iniesta cared for the ball like a newborn baby.
To many, those two are the best midfielders of all-time and Xavi has always been Iniesta’s biggest cheerleader.
When Iniesta retired in 2024, Xavi described him as “greatest talent that Spanish football has given” and one capable of playing anywhere in the midfield.
Sergio Busquets
The third part of the Barcelona midfield trio was Busquets, who may not have grabbed the headlines like Xavi and Iniesta did, but you ask anyone that played with him and they will say he was one of the most important players of that all-conquering team.
Xavi played with Busquets on 314 occasions and the former No.5 is the third highest appearance maker at the Camp Nou club, only behind Xavi himself and a certain Argentinian.
He is also one of the most decorated players in football history with nine league titles, three Champions Leagues, seven Copa del Reys, one European Championships and a World Cup. Not bad.
Xavi
Picking yourself can be a little hubris, but considering he is one of the best midfielders of all-time, we’ll let Xavi off.
He said he wanted to be in the team so he can enjoy himself and it is a coin toss between him and Iniesta as to the greatest Spanish midfielder of all-time.
He won everything there was to win at Barca and was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s era-defining team.
Lionel Messi
Messi’s inclusion in this list was assured as the sun coming up each morning.
Xavi had a front-row seat to Messi’s ridiculous Barcelona career and has often described him as the best player in history “without a doubt.”
They played together 399 times, combining for 42 goals, and won every trophy possible. But while Messi pushed Barcelona to incredible heights, it should come as no surprise that his best years came when he had Xavi and Iniesta behind him.
One of the best years was 2010, when the trio occupied the top three spots on the Ballon d’Or, representing the first time a club’s camaraderie had produced all three finalists.
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