Xavi deserved to win Ballon d’Or: Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho calls Xavi one of the best players of the past decade

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said that Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez is a player who deserved to win the Ballon d’Or. “He’s one of the best players of the past decade but [leaves] without one of the titles he deserved the most, the Ballon d’Or,” the Portuguese manager said about the Barcelona man.

The former Real Madrid boss paid tribute to Xavi who will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after having joined their academy aged 11. The Spanish playmaker has won almost every trophy at the club and country level, but never managed to win the Ballon d’Or.

The manager, however, admitted that he often found it difficult to talk about the midfielder. The Portuguese manager who once worked as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona said that he knew Xavi since he was 16 or 17, but the player “acted” like he did not know him.

“I’ve known him since he was 16 or 17 years old and rose to the first team,” Mourinho said according to Sport. “I don’t know why but he acts like he doesn’t know me whenever [journalists] ask him about me, so I find it hard to talk about him.”

The manager, however, chose to pay tribute to the decorated midfielder while adding that Barcelona deserved to be in the UEFA Champions League final. “Barcelona and Juventus both deserve to be in Berlin. They had good seasons and proved to be far superior to the teams they faced in the semi-finals.”