We’re in first year of post-Messi era but we want to compete, proclaims Xavi Hernandez

With Barcelona dropping to ninth place in the La Liga table, many feared the worst for the club although they reacted quickly and sacked Ronald Koeman. However, with managerial options few and far in between, it saw the club appoint Xavi Hernandez although the Spaniard’s appointment has sparked a revial against all odds. It has seen the Barcelona legend transform performances on the field with the La Liga giants now sitting second on the table.

However, with six games to go, Barcelona hopes of playing Champions League football look a lot better than it did under Ronaldo Koeman but Xavi believes that they’ve still got a long way to go. He admitted that their “post-Lionel Messi era” has only just begun and the club need to be patient and slowly figure out their way through their problems. The Spaniard also added that the club has examples of how teams have struggled but they can’t afford to do that as they need to compete.

"It's our reality. This is the post- Messi era, that's difficult in itself. He used to win games on his own. We have to be patient. I'm excited to win trophies, but we have to strengthen. We have to be realistic,” Xavi said, reported ESPN.

"We're in the first year of the post-Messi era, we have to be patient. We've seen a lot of great teams, like at Manchester United, it's been hard for them to come back, to qualify for the Champions League. Barca can't allow that. We have to fight for trophies, we want to compete."