Xavi Hernandez has labelled Barcelona 's mouth-watering Europa League clash with Manchester United the "worst" possible draw.
The two European heavyweights will face off in February in a bid to reach the 16, having both endured disappointing group stages. Barcelona were demoted from the Champions League after finishing third in a group which contained fellow giants Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, United finished second in their Europa League group on goal difference, with Thursday's 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad proving futile. Now set to face one another next year, Xavi has bemoaned Barcelona's luck in a glowing compliment to Erik ten Hag 's United.
"It is the most difficult opponent once again. But we will look forward to it," the Barca boss told a press conference ahead of their final LaLiga fixture before the World Cup. "They are a historic side, they have grown a lot with the arrival of Ten Hag, they have great players. It's the worst draw we could have got. Once again no luck."
Xavi added on the prospect of facing Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo : "He seems to me to be a great player, he has marked an era in world football and can still make the difference."
Former United defender and current Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff told BT Sport : "I was smiling [when the draw came out]. The first thing that came was memories, four years of Man United memories come back. I smile even though it's two sides who would've preferred to have this confrontation maybe a few rounds further and not really now. But things like that can happen.
"Two big clubs; worldwide fanbases, a lot of pressure, so it's gonna probably gonna be the most important match of that week. I think for fans, especially for neutral fans, it's an amazing draw. I think for fans of both clubs, it's a draw that they will love, but again I think it's the toughest draw at the moment.
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"You prefer those draws further down the line but on the other hand it's beautiful and for a lot of spectators probably the reason to stay at home those two nights to watch a magnificent football game with a lot of extra things because we have a lot of recent history, a lot of games in the Champions League of course.
"I think it's good for the Europa League because these are huge clubs who're normally Champions League clubs but now we find ourselves in this situation. Super interesting draw; very special, very emotional and one of the most special football games of football you can see nowadays."
The sides last met at the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2019, but much has changed since. As well as each chopping and changing multiple managers, Barcelona have lost Lionel Messi and United have re-signed Ronaldo.
