Xavi believes it would be "fair" for Manchester City to complete the treble insisting they are "the best team in the world".
The Barcelona boss, who is on the cusp of delivering the LaLiga title in his first full season at the Nou Camp, has waxed lyrical over City, who are coached by his former mentor in Pep Guardiola. The Catalan won his first treble with Xavi in his midfield at Barcelona in 2009.
Guardiola has gone on to pick up regular trophies throughout his career, winning at Bayern Munich and now City. He could yet be the second man in English football to deliver the iconic treble, following on from Sir Alex Ferguson, heading into the final weeks of the season.
Xavi has said on the potential achievement: "Of course, it would [be fair]. In my opinion, they are the best team in the world right now. They have the best manager in the world and the quality of football they play is a mirror for us to look up to."
City have taken a giant step to retaining their title in the past week, which would be their third on the bounce and a fifth in six seasons. They also have an FA Cup final to come against Manchester United as well as a Champions League semi-final against holders Real Madrid.
Guardiola's side are favourites for the three remaining competitions they're in with expectation building that they could pull off the historic feat. City secured a battling win over Fulham on Sunday to take them top for the first time in weeks, whilst they also have games in hand.
Kyle Walker, who has returned to the starting XI in recent games, claimed he was "not even concentrating on the treble" after their win in west London whilst Guardiola has recently played down their potential success, claiming they must first capture both domestic prizes.
He said: “I’ll talk to you about it after we have won the FA Cup and Premier League. Before the final of the Champions League we will start to talk of the treble. Look how far away it is. We are far, far away. How many times in this amazing country have trebles been done? How many years? How many teams?
“It is one. Once. Our neighbours did it in how many centuries? The best thing is to focus on if we have enough legs for tomorrow to compete against Sheffield United. Am I excited about the treble? Not at all.” City have games this week against West Ham and Leeds before their first-leg clash against Madrid at the Bernabeu.
