Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi has revealed that Jose Mourinho was much more than just a translator as he shadowed the late Sir Bobby Robson at the Nou Camp.

Mourinho arrived at Barca in 1996 after working with Robson at Porto, and during his time in Spain also worked under now-Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.

Xavi, 35, currently plays in the Qatar Stars League following his summer move to Al-Sadd and after reflecting on his 24-year spell with Barcelona, he said that Mourinho was excellent to work with.

Jose Mourinho was Sir Bobby Robson's right hand man at the Nou Camp after they worked together at Porto

After Robson departed Barca in 1997 Mourinho then worked closely with the first team under Louis van Gaal

He told ESPN: 'He was excellent in his three years at Barca. They said he was a translator. Rubbish.

'He was the assistant coach, someone who understood the philosophy of Barca and who shared many of the same characteristics of Van Gaal.

'He was very respected by the players. He trained us sometimes alone at Barca B and he was excellent.

'I'm surprised that he became known for another type of football, more defensive, because he wasn't like that with us.'

Xavi’s comments about Mourinho have come at a testing time for the Chelsea manager with the Barclays Premier League champions having lost seven of their 12 league matches so far.

Xavi will also be keeping a close on the upcoming El Clasico after featuring in 30 La Liga clashes against rivals Real Madrid, with the midfielder winning 13 league encounters for Barcelona.

After joining Barca at the age of 11, Xavi went on to make more than 500 appearances in La Liga with the Spanish giants and won eight league titles.

Mourinho and Robson worked well together in Spain before the latter left Barcelona in 1997

Xavi was in tears as tributes flooded in before the 2015 Champions League final against Juventus in Berlin