Thiago Alcântara, former Barcelona team-mate “Xavi is eternal. Even when he is not at his very best level physically, he plays a kind of football that gives oxygen to a team, play, speed. It makes me sad to think that I won’t be able to watch Xavi [in Europe] for more time. He’ll always have that level. He is football. He is one of those players that has made Barcelona what it is today”

Hristo Stoichkov (on Onda Cero radio), former Barcelona team-mate

“I remember that little lad, fresh-faced, just a kid, coming on at Valladolid and scoring a header – a header that saved that Dutchman’s [Louis van Gaal] neck. If we’re talking about Xavi, we’re talking about a legend in world football, a genuine legend. From the very first game to the very last game he has been the most decisive player at Barcelona, the player who has done more for Barcelona than anyone else, the player who has lifted more trophies than anyone else, ever. That’s Xavi Hernández. There will be a Before Xavi and an After Xavi. It’s not fair that he never won the Balon d’Or, but he was ‘unlucky’ to coincide with Messi. I am sure that one day he will end up coaching Barcelona. There will never be another player like him.”

Jorge Valdano, former Real Madrid coach If football was a science, Xavi would have discovered the formula. With a ball at his feet, no one else has ever communicated so intelligently with every player on the pitch”

Santi Cazorla, former Spain team-mate “There will never be a player like Xavi. I was fortunate to play with him and I learned something new every day. He’s a player that made the difficult look easy, simplifying everything”

Marcelino, scorer of the winner for Spain in the 1964 European Championship, their only international trophy until 2008 “Without doubt, the best midfielder there has been in world football over the last 30 years”

Julen Lopetegui, Porto manager, coach of Spain’s Under‑19s, Under-20s and then Under‑21s between 2010 and 2014 “Xavi changed football. He helped us to build, or to see, a new player profile that ended up running through all levels of the national team. He killed off the myth of physicality being above all else and opened people’s eyes to the qualities of small, technical players, proving that you can attack and also defend with the ball. There are lots of players who win things, but few who lay down concepts, ideas, who change the way we think, and Xavi did that. At club level, the idea already existed and he perfected it; at international level, he imposed it. Possession, the speed of pass. He made it simple, and that’s difficult. The intensity with which he played was vital and it showed that intensity is not what people often think it is. It’s the rhythm of the game, the speed and intensity of the play itself: quick, simple, constant. He made every other player better. He gave the right pass, he gave continuity and he was always well positioned”

Ander Herrera, Manchester United midfielder who scored for Spain Under-21s in the final of the 2011 European Championship “Xavi is unique; there won’t be another player like him. The style of Barcelona and the national team was forged through him”

Ronald Koeman (from Marca), former assistant manager at Barcelona, coinciding with Xavi’s arrival “Everyone knew when he was coming through the youth system that he was the successor to Guardiola, if Pep ever left. He had huge talent and you could see that from very young. Tactically, he was excellent. He has done so many good things for Barcelona that one day he has to return.”

Michu, former Spain team-mate “I was called up for Spain the day the national team qualified for the 2014 World Cup, against Georgia in Albacete, and I got changed next to him. He was really happy to have qualified but he said it would be his last World Cup. I told him that for the sake of those of us who love the game, he should never leave. It was an honour for me to share a dressing room with the best player in the history of Spanish football. If only he could stay for ever”

Fernando Torres (on Twitter), former Spain team-mate who scored in the Euro 2012 final “It is the end of an era for one of the greats, but we will never forget that you made us great.”

Sergio Ramos (on Twitter), fellow European Championship and World Cup winner with Spain “Football in its purest form.”

David Villa (on Twitter), former Spain team-mate and winner of 2010 World Cup ‘Silver Shoe’ with five goals “Your class and your football made us great.”

Carlos Marchena, team-mate at 1999 World Youth Championships, as well as Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup “As a team-mate, Xavi stood out because of his approachability, solidarity, leadership and humility. His departure feels like the end of an era for me; he was the stamp of identity for a generation, the embodiment of a style. He represents a change of mentality, aims and ambition in Spanish football. He made it possible for Spain to throw off its complex and look other successful teams in the eyes. It is hard to say something new about him as a player, but he was a footballer who always made his team-mates better. Above all, I will remember him as a person. Xavi was always Xavi, the same Xavi he had always been”

Joan Laporta, former Barcelona president “Xavi is the defender of the values of the greatest Barcelona team in history. He is the personification of a model based on effort and a commitment to touch and technique, that exquisite eye that Barcelona projected around the world”

Dani Aranzubia, goalkeeper in Spain’s 1999 World Youth Championship-winning team “I played with Xavi for Spain, and against him many times at club level. He was the creator of a style for Barcelona and Spain. Without him, so much success would not have been possible. He will go down in history as one of the true greats”

Míchel, former Real Madrid player, coach of clubs including Sevilla and Olympiakos “Xavi is not going to Qatar to end his football career but to begin another journey and to develop himself. He is one of the few footballers left who are truly interested in football in its purest sense and that’s why he wants to carry on helping the game, working in football. I am sure he will be a coach. It strikes me just how much respect everyone has for him and that is well deserved. He is a fundamental player, around whom a team gravitates. Everything revolves around him and will do even when he is not on the pitch, because the legacy he has left is so significant”

Guillermo Amor, Barcelona central midfielder for 10 years, then director of club’s youth system “Xavi represents the values of Barcelona on and off the pitch. He lives the game with passion and is a true Barcelonista. An example and a reference point for world football”

Gerard Piqué, former club team-mate who played alongside Xavi during Spain’s record 29-match unbeaten run “He signifies our way of playing, the culture of La Masía, everything. He is one of those emblematic players who have helped to make Barcelona even bigger”

Juan Manuel Asensi, former Barcelona player and Xavi’s first coach in youth system “It’s an honour to have coached that little lad who is such a great. There will never be another player like him”

Josep Maria Bartomeu (on RAC1 radio), Barcelona president “He’s the most important reference point this club has had. We told him: ‘If you’re going, you have to come back one day.’ He could be a scout, coach, technical director, because his concepts are very clear and we cannot lose talent like his.”

Cesc Fàbregas (on Radio Marca), former team-mate who joined Barcelona in 2011 “One of the big mistakes people make is to talk about who can be the next Xavi, to keep looking for him. We waste time constantly looking for the replacement for Xavi? There will never be another Xavi.”

Carles Puyol (from El Mundo Deportivo), retired centre-back who refused to leave Barcelona in 1998 having seen best friend Xavi make his first-team debut “The motor, the style, the brain of one of the best Barcelona teams in history. I hope he comes back soon.”

Luis Milla, former Madrid and Barcelona midfielder and Spain Under-21s coach “It is a pity that he is going. When people look back on this age of success for Spain and Barcelona, he is the player who will come to mind. He is the profile, the player who lays down a style and has done so for a decade. Pause, vision, maturity, intelligence. Spain always had good players but we needed someone like Xavi, someone who gave it shape, order, someone at the controls, deciding on the flow and rhythm of the game. He brought a clear idea, one that was founded on having the ball. The midfield has been the secret for Spain and for Barcelona and he was the reference point”

Xabi Alonso, played in every game alongside Xavi as Spain won the 2010 World Cup “Without doubt, Xavi is one of the most influential players there has been in football in recent years”

Iñaki Sáez, coach of 1999 World Youth Championships winning team and later of senior Spanish national team “Xavi is values, leadership, trust, maturity, commitment, the desire to overcome. He is one of the most important players in the world over the last decades. His way of understanding the game helped make Spain champions. His vision, his perception, his idea contributed to Spain playing the kind of football that people fell in love with and built an unforgettable era of success”

Johan Cruyff, Barcelona’s longest-serving coach, who won 11 trophies at the Camp Nou “If Xavi has a bad day then Barcelona do not play half as well. He is the one that sets the rhythm of the game. His play allows the team to function. He’s different”

Andoni Zubizarreta, Barcelona sporting director and former player “In an immense, globalised game like football has become, Xavi was still able to define an entire style, a way of playing and understanding football. From now on, whenever we see certain types of players we will look at them and say: ‘He plays like Xavi.’ Only the very greatest players can be said to have done that”

Andrés Iniesta, Barcelona midfield team-mate with whom Xavi shared a profound understanding “I have run out of eulogies. I cannot find words that reach his level as a player and a person. The years, the success, the feelings, the way he did things ... all of that is beyond words. He is a unique player who will never be repeated, fundamental for club and country. It has been a true pleasure and a privilege to have spent my entire career by his side”

Joseba Etxeberria (from Diario Vasco), former Spain international “If we analyse football as a collective sport he is the most influential player I have ever seen. Others can move their team, but I have only ever seen one player, and that’s him, who can move all 22 players on the pitch as he wishes, to his rhythm. For a player like Xavi not to have won the Ballon d’Or is an insult to football. If you want to stop him, you have to put two men on him. With one, it’s not enough. It’s unanimous: we don’t say this just because we like him. Ask anyone who has played against him and they will tell you the same thing.”

Vicente Del Bosque (in an article written in El Pais after Xavi left the national team), former Spain coach “Before the final in Kiev in 2002, Xavi was a little uncomfortable and he said to me: ‘Míster, I think this will be my last game. I think I should retire after the final.’ I said: ‘Look, Xavi, wait a bit. You’re in good shape to keep playing. Wait two more years. I feel bad that you think it’s time to go because there’s still a lot to be enjoyed.’ That final against Italy was an example of how a team should play. It was the best game we have played and Xavi was one of the outstanding players. When he was coming down the stairs after the game, I said: ‘You see?’

“They say a team plays like its midfield. Xavi was the representative of the national team for 70 of the 90 games I was in charge. Twelve games a year, two qualification campaigns for the World Cup, one for the European Championship and then the tournaments themselves. Xavi laid down a style for the national team and marked an era. He was an expert at moving the ball on with one or two touches but when he had to hold on to it, he did that too. When it came to dictating the pace of a game, studying matches, he was a maestro. Teams would drop deep and wait and he would always find the solution, patiently. In 10 minutes, he knew the team in front of him perfectly. He was a leader.

“People would say that Xavi chose the team; they said so to hurt us. Xavi never chose the team but we would debate about football. How could you not debate football with a player like Xavi? He would never hold back defending his view. Every coach has an image, a tactical starting point, in his mind. But the most important thing is the concept, the way you’re going to play and we talked about that a lot. Xavi is passionate about football and he represents a style that is not just Barcelona’s.

“His departure leaves an important void, but his legacy is more important still. His style has been passed down to the next generations. That’s why more players will come ... what happened at the World Cup meant that Xavi’s international career did not end as we would have liked. But that ending does not take anything away from everything he did for the national team.”

Éric Abidal (on Cadena Ser radio), retired defender who played with Xavi at Barcelona from 2007-13 I want to see him lift the European Cup: he deserves an ending like that. He is a monument to the club, emblematic.

Pep Guardiola, former Barcelona manager, cited by Xavi as his role model, whom he replaced in the Catalans’ midfield “One of the very best is departing. I hope future players learn from him in the way that I learned from his love for the game. There wasn’t a single day went by when I didn’t see him enjoy it. There would be a friendly and he would play. When he was injured, he would play, or he would do everything to be back soon. He is the most amateur player I know, and at the same time the most professional player too, such is his love for football. When he is not playing football, he is watching football. He will become a coach I am sure. He is the best Catalan player in history, not just because of the titles he won but because of his love for the game. Training would be at 11am and at 10.40 he was already out there, kicking the ball around.”

Luis Enrique, current manager of Barcelona “His importance is beyond doubt. He has played more games than anyone else at Barcelona, in an era when staying at a club this big for so long is extremely difficult. He has won more titles than anyone else. Now he has the chance to try to win one more. He will leave here through the puerta grande, out the front door the right way. I am so pleased that he is able to leave like this. It would have felt a bit wrong if he had left last season and I am glad he can leave like this, in the way that I would have liked Víctor Valdés and Carles Puyol to have been able to as well. He deserves it.”

Joaquim Hernández, Xavi’s father ”He has lived football with great passion since he was little. He is a real professor of football. He watches games, reads about football, follows so many teams. He lives for football.”