Xavi now confirms he "asked" Barcelona to sign £60m Arsenal star

Former Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has revealed that he wanted to sign Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi as a replacement for Sergio Busquets.

Xavi managed the Blaugrana between 2021 and 2024. The club were linked with a move for Zubimendi in the summer of 2023 when Busquets left on a free transfer.

Zubimendi was just entering the prime of his career with Real Sociedad back then, but Barcelona did not proceed with an approach as they could not afford his services.

In an explosive interview with La Vanguardia, Xavi has now revealed that he asked the Blaugrana to sign Zubimendi as Busquets’ successor, but his request was declined.

He said: “Sergio Busquets was leaving so I asked them to sign Zubimendi and they told me no for financial reasons. Then Jordi Cruyff left because of the contempt they showed him – I mean, Cruyff’s son.

“They, who carry the banner of Cruyffism… I told him, What are you saying? We just won the league , and a month and a half later, they let Mateu Alemany go as a director. At that point, I should have left too.

“While we were in control, the team kept improving, but as soon as they started making the decisions, and not by chance, the team went down. Yes, very good [On his relationship with club president Joan Laporta]. In fact, I signed for Barca thanks to him, but he ended up letting me down.”

Zubimendi was linked with several elite European clubs during his time at Sociedad. Liverpool reached a verbal agreement to sign him in 2024, but the midfielder decided to stay for another year.

He eventually agreed to leave his hometown club for the Gunners last summer and has proved a brilliant acquisition. The £60 million signing has been a mainstay in the heart of the club’s midfield.

The Spaniard has formed a brilliant partnership with Declan Rice, and the latter has had more freedom to press forward. In recent months, their roles have also been reversed on multiple occasions.

Zubimendi has made the odd error leading to a goal, but the 27-year-old has often redeemed himself. He opened the scoring against Leeds United and Sunderland, just after his blunder against Manchester United.

Overall, the Sociedad graduate has made nine goal contributions in all competitions. He has also been solid defensively with an average of four duels and two tackles won alongside three recoveries and two clearances.

The Euro 2024 winner has undoubtedly been one of the best signings of the Premier League this campaign. He could have been playing for Barcelona instead, had their hierarchy obliged to Xavi’s request to sign him.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com

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