BARCELONA GREAT XAVI has slammed the La Liga giants for falling asleep amid Real Madrid’s European dominance.
Madrid claimed a third consecutive Champions League title on Saturday, beating Liverpool 3-1 in the final in Kiev. Barcelona, meanwhile, secured the La Liga crown for the third time in four seasons during 2017-18.
But Xavi — who won four Champions League trophies with Barca – accused the Spanish champions of becoming “dormant”, despite signing the likes of Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele in recent seasons.
“Madrid have a winning gene and Barca have fallen asleep,” he told El Penalti. “They have been dormant for years with signings and that takes its toll.”
Xavi also pointed to Madrid’s luck in the Champions League, the latest of which was Mohamed Salah’s injury and Loris Karius’ errors in the final.
“Real Madrid had everything in sight. Injured players like [Paris Saint-Germain star] Neymar, [Bayern Munich's Arjen] Robben, [Jerome] Boateng, the referees,” he said.
“The most important Liverpool player was injured, Bayern goalkeepers [Manuel Neuer injured and Sven Ulreich's semi-final error] and Liverpool.
“It seems like a witch, but the issue is that Barcelona have fallen asleep and it seems Barca are winning titles, but the others are winning the Champions League.”
