Barcelona Guardiola obsessed with excellence, says midfielder

Arda Turan out of Sociedad test

Aleix Vidal didn't train for personal reasons

Life in Qatar keeping him busy, Xavi Hernandez is as up to date as ever in terms of international football and the latest from Europe, though his experiences away from the spotlight have given him a more global perspective on the game.

In an exclusive interview with Soccer Laduma, Africa's biggest football publication, the Catalan midfielder reminisced on his time with Barcelona and La Roja, with whom he won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"When I look back at my time at Barcelona, it is not about missing the club where I spent 24 years (18 as a professional), but feeling how lucky and gifted I was," Xavi said. "I lived moments there I never could have dreamt of."

Asked about a young Lionel Messi and what his first training sessions at the club were like, the 36-year-old insisted that the entire squad realised almost immediately that he would be amongst the best to ever play the game.

"None of us had ever seen someone like him at his age, and from the beginning we understood that he would be the best," the Al-Saad player remembered. "We could already see that he was going to be very special."

Xavi also had lots of praise for Pep Guardiola, who he believes can win the Premier League with the possession based style that was so dominant with the Blaugrana.

"It's true that football culture in England is different than in Spain, but if anyone can win the Premier League, it's Pep [Guardiola]," he said.

"It won't be easy because every important change needs a while to be properly implemented and, although we can already see Guardiola's touch at Manchester City, I think there is still some gap to achieve the excellence that Pep is looking for."

Having settled in nicely to life at his new club, Xavi has been involved in football through several different roles.

"I'm still playing football, working with the Aspire Academy, and am involved as an ambassador in the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of the World Cup in 2022," he concluded.

"I'm a part of an amazing group of professionals that are teaching me as a potential future coach."