Xavi Hernandez will always be regarded as one of the best players in Barcelona history, however, he failed to build a great reputation as a coach with the club.
Despite winning the La Liga title in the 2022/23 season, Xavi left the following season after failing to complement his past success. While some players have fond memories of the Spanish tactician at the club, some were not fond of his style.
Highly-rated defender Oscar Minguez has now opened up on why he left Barcelona as he prepares to face his former side on Saturday with Celta Vigo.
The defender says that Xavi was the main reason for his exit but also concedes he didn’t have the best attitude at the time either.
Oscar Mingueza during his time at Barcelona (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
“When Xavi arrived we didn’t fit in well. He didn’t like me or whatever. He told me I would play 10 games,” he told Catalunya Radio.
“I don’t think I had the best mentality in the world either. I was going to train to train, play to play… That’s why I left Barça, to try to regain the motivation to play, to enjoy and improve my football.”
Mingueza has gone on to shine at Celta and even been linked with a move back to Barcelona. The defender didn’t talk about the speculation but did have some praise for his old team.
“If you’re a defender and you make a mistake, you’re in the picture and you’re screwed. We have to value a lot what Casadó, Cubarsí and company are doing. They’ll also have mistakes, but they shouldn’t be killed when they have them,” he added.
Barcelona head to Celta on Saturday and will come up against Mingueza who has two goals and five assists in 12 La Liga appearances this season.
