Barcelona head coach Xavi has admitted he ‘loves’ former Spain teammate Sergio Ramos despite his associations with Real Madrid.
Ramos made his first appearance against Barca since leaving Los Blancos – for whom he made 671 appearances and won 22 trophies – in 2021 as part of the Sevilla side that travelled to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Friday night.
That match turned into a disaster for Ramos, who scored the decisive own goal late on as Barcelona prevailed 1-0 and maintained their unbeaten start to La Liga’s new season.
Xavi was asked about the 37-year-old in his post-match press conference and the Barca boss reserved praise for the veteran defender.
“Sergio Ramos is a spectacular defender. It’s incredible to see him at the top level at his age. He’s a great professional and I wish him all the best. He was unlucky to score an own goal today, but I love him a lot,” Xavi said.
Barcelona were wasteful in the final third and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen admitted his side were ‘very lucky’ to come away with the three points, but Xavi insisted the performance was pleasing.
“We created chances, we felt comfortable against a great team. We’re happy and satisfied, but we must improve our finishing,” he added.
“We created many chances and attacked well. I think it has been one of our best matches, but we’re frustrated because we didn’t score earlier.
“We played great football against Sevilla, who are the champions of the Europa League.”
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