Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has opened up on the difficult conversations which led to club legends Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba leaving the Camp Nou.
The two long-serving defenders have been moved on as part of a squad overhaul – with Pique having retired in November and Alba leaving at the end of the campaign – alongside club captain Sergio Busquets, who is departing as a free agent this summer.
Pique had fallen out of favour under Xavi, following last summer’s signings of Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen with younger players Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia also enjoying more prominence in the line-ups in recent times.
