Landed in Munich in a flash: Barça legend reveals failed Bayern move | OneFootball

He was long one of the biggest figureheads of FC Barcelona – but Xavi Hernández almost continued his unparalleled career in Germany. The midfield maestro revealed in an interview with the portal Cronache di Spogliatoio that during his active time he was several times on the verge of leaving Barça – and FC Bayern also showed interest in signing him.

"In 2008, when we were going through a bad phase in Barcelona and many blamed me for not being able to energize the team, I was about to sign with Inter," the now 45-year-old recounted. "Twice I was on the verge of leaving Barcelona."

Bayern and Milan wanted Xavi – but Guardiola changed everything

Photo: IMAGO | imago/Cordon Press/Miguelez Sports,

According to his statements, Inter Milan was initially at the top of the list of potential employers. Later, other top European clubs also expressed interest, including AC Milan – and indeed FC Bayern. "Milan really wanted me, but I decided to stay in Barcelona. Bayern Munich was also interested," Xavi confirmed in the interview.

The reason he never ended up transferring was largely due to one man: Pep Guardiola. The then new coach of the Catalans took over the first team in 2008 and not only changed the club, but also Xavi's career. "Guardiola was on the bench of the first team, and that changed everything," said the midfield strategist.

Guardiola shaped Xavi in the following years to be the playmaker of one of the best teams in football history. Together with Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, he dominated the midfield play of an entire era.

From La Masia to a world career

Xavi is still considered the epitome of "Tiki-Taka" football. He comes from the famous youth academy La Masia, went through all the youth teams there and made the leap to the professionals in 1998. In the following 17 years, he shaped the most successful era of FC Barcelona – with 767 competitive games, 85 goals and 184 assists.

With the Catalans, the Spanish national player won, among other things, four Champions League titles and eight Spanish championships. Xavi played 133 international matches for the Spanish national team, became European champion in 2008 and 2012, and world champion in 2010.

In 2015, the playmaker finally left his sporting home and moved to Al-Sadd SC in Qatar, where he was active until 2019 and then stood on the sidelines as a coach. Two years later, he returned to Barcelona – this time as head coach. With Barça, he won the Spanish championship and the Super Cup in 2023.

After mutually agreeing to part ways with FC Barcelona in the summer of 2024, Xavi is currently without a club. Most recently, the former world and European champion has been linked with Manchester United.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.