Xavi: 'Real Madrid do not want to play attractive football'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 10 January 2018

Xavi insists that Real Madrid are unable to play 'beautiful football' in the same way as Barcelona as they too often go for a more direct approach.

Barcelona legend Xavi has criticised Real Madrid's style of play by insisting that they have not evolved down the years.

Long-serving midfielder Xavi was part of the famed Barca side that won countless honours between 2008 and 2011, coinciding with Jose Mourinho's arrival at the Bernabeu.

The former Spain international claims that Real simply do not want to play 'beautiful football', accusing Los Blancos of often taking a more direct approach to the opponents' net.

"Barcelona is the final exam for a player," he told El Pais. "It is the most difficult club and the most demanding in the world. Madrid do not play so beautifully. At the Bernabeu, if a defender hoofs the ball into the stand it is fine. That is the culture. The fans applaud.

"At the Camp Nou you knock the ball into the stand and the grumbles are so loud it is negative. Since [Johan] Cruyff's time. Mourinho's Madrid hit the ball direct over the top. Mourinho told his players never to stop the ball, to play quickly and then [Angel] Di Maria, Cristiano [Ronaldo] or [Karim] Benzema would break.

"Now they do it with [Gareth] Bale. Real don't want to play football. Madrid break apart, seven players attack and Casemiro stays back on his own to cover the centre. [Sergio] Busquets cannot do that as even I am faster than he is. Casemiro is super fast, but he has trouble with everything else as he has not worked on it.

"He has other characteristics, is more defensive, makes more tackles, covers more ground, but he does not dominate space-time. If you had started with Casemiro aged 12, 13, 15, then he would have that."

Xavi now plies his trade for Qatari side Al Sadd, having brought his Barcelona career to an end in 2015.