Iniesta, Bartra laud 750-gamer Xavi

Andres Iniesta congratulated fellow midfielder Xavi on his milestone for Barcelona on Saturday, having claimed earlier in March he was not sure if he could play with him.

The Spanish pair have long held the Barca midfield together, but Iniesta was quoted as saying ‘it seems we can’t play together’ by Marca.

But Iniesta went some way to smooth the waters by the perceived strain in the pair’s relationship, congratulating the 35-year-old on appearing for Barca for the 750th time in all competitions – as the La Liga leaders chalked up a 2-0 win over Eibar.

“An important victory before a massive week,” Iniesta posted on Twitter. 

“Congratulations Xavi, there are no words, my friend!”

Central defender Marc Bartra also hailed Xavi, and claimed their win at the Estadio Municipal de Ipurua came about due to Barca’s attitude.

“It was a workmanlike win. We are happy because we knew it wouldn’t be easy and it wasn’t,” Bartra said.

“But we ran more than they did, we imposed our attitude and we tend to get the three points when we do that.

“We’re working on set pieces a lot in training. The second goal worked out well but all credit to [Lionel] Messi for such a fine header.

“It’s a very important week. That’s why we needed a win for our confidence – this game was a potential banana skin.

“I am very happy that Xavi has made it to 750 games. He is Barca from head to toe and it’s an honour to be in the same squad as him.”