Xavi: Barcelona are not invincible

Xavi is staying calm about Barcelona’s La Liga chances this season, insisting that his side are not invincible.

With only 13 matches left before the end of the competition, Barca face an uphill task to retain their La Liga crown as they find themselves 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid.

The Catalan giants head into Sunday’s match at Racing Santander on the back of a 7-1 rout of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, but Xavi is keeping his feet on the ground.

“We are not invincible,” Xavi said. “We are 10 points behind Madrid in La Liga.”

“We will try to recover, but it does not depend on ourselves, it depends on Madrid.”

Xavi also commented for the first time on the contract situation of coach Pep Guardiola, who on Wednesday remained cryptic about his future at the club.

“I do not want him to go, I want him to renew his contract and be with us for more years,” the 32-year-old said.

“He has given us order and trust. He is key to make all this work, he did very well when he saw that Messi could play as a number nine.”

Messi made history on Wednesday when he became the first player to score five goals in a single Champions League match, and Xavi believes that comparisons between the Argentine and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo lack foundation.

“Leo is incomparable, you cannot compare him with any other player,” Xavi said.

“You (reporters) tend to compare the greatest players, which is logic, but Messi is unique, there is no other like him.”

“He makes the difference so many times and he is so deeply involved in the matches, when he does not score goals he makes assists. He is wonderful.”

The Spain international went on to stress that he is not thinking about the possibility of a Champions League final between Barca and Madrid.

“Those are all hypothesis, there is a draw left and Madrid must still play their match (against CSKA Moscow) at the Bernabeu,” Xavi said.

“It is clear that there have been surprises, Manchester United are already out, but to talk about a final between Barca and Madrid is a remote scenario… let’s wait.”