Xavi Reveals Ambitious Plans to Reunite Messi, Neymar and Pedro at Barcelona
Xavi Hernández has pulled back the curtain on just how ambitious his Barcelona rebuild really was. The former coach says he tried to bring back Neymar and Pedro, alongside Lionel Messi, during his time in charge – only for finances and politics at the club to kill the dream.
Speaking in an interview with Brazilian legend Romário, Xavi laid out the scale of his intentions.
“I managed to bring back Dani Alves and tried to bring back Neymar, Pedro and Messi when I was coach,” he said, before detailing how each attempt hit a wall.
According to Xavi, Barcelona’s financial crisis and internal decisions at board level stopped the reunion before it could even begin.
“Pedro and Neymar couldn’t be brought back because of the financial situation, and Messi because the current Barça president didn’t want him,” he explained. “There was an opportunity with Neymar, but it didn’t happen either. It didn’t happen because of our very difficult financial situation. Financial Fair Play was severely limiting us, and then there were the infamous salaries.”
For Xavi, the context matters. He describes the club he inherited in November 2021 as being “at its lowest point in history,” weighed down by debt, a trophyless 2019–20 season and a broken dressing room. He still managed to deliver two trophies, but the grand reunion with three icons of the club remained fantasy.
The question lingers: what might Barcelona have looked like with Messi, Neymar and Pedro back in the same colours? Instead of a nostalgic superteam, the club pivoted towards youth and a long-term rebuild.
Xavi’s pride in building Barcelona’s new core
While Hansi Flick now stands on the touchline and collects the plaudits, Xavi is keen to remind everyone that much of the current Barcelona side was forged on his watch.
Flick’s impact is undeniable. A domestic treble in his first season and a strong defence of the La Liga title have restored an aura that had faded. But many of the players driving that resurgence were either signed, trusted or developed by Xavi.
“We left a legacy of young players who are now the backbone of this team,” he said. “We laid a good foundation that Flick, with his excellent work, is now building on.”
Xavi points directly to Raphinha as one of his personal bets.
“I signed Raphinha. I told the club to sign him. I already wanted him when I was in Portugal. I gave him a lot of confidence. If he didn’t perform, I would have let him go,” Xavi revealed.
He recalled a tense moment with the Brazilian winger, when frustration threatened to derail his progress.
“I had a conversation with him because he was frustrated. I told him to stay calm, that he was five years old, and now he’s really blossomed. He’s a leader.”
Then comes the highest praise of all, reserved for Lamine Yamal. Xavi does not hold back.
“Yamal can be compared to Messi. He is one of the chosen ones; everything depends on him, his mentality, and his desire to make history. He can be the best in the world. He is already among them.”
For a coach who once shared a pitch with prime Messi, those words carry weight.
Renewed attack on Laporta over Messi’s non-return
The Messi saga still burns. Xavi, 46, again insisted he did everything possible to engineer the Argentine’s return after the 2022 World Cup – and again pointed the finger at president Joan Laporta.
“Messi was the best. There will never be anyone better than him,” Xavi said. “He is a very humble and hardworking person. I saw it when I was 16; he was completely different.”
Their relationship, he stressed, remains strong.
“I have a very good relationship with him. I tried to sign him for Barça. I spoke with him for five months; everything was ready, but the current president of Barça said no.”
That line mirrors his earlier claim that Laporta personally blocked the move.
“The president started negotiating the contract with Leo’s father, and we had La Liga’s approval, but it was the president who threw everything out,” Xavi previously said.
Laporta has publicly denied that version of events. What is not in dispute is the outcome: Messi left Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent and chose Inter Miami, ending any hope of one of the most emotional comebacks the sport could have seen.
Barcelona, instead of rewinding the clock with Messi and Neymar, doubled down on youth and reset the club’s identity. Xavi insists that was his work. Flick is now the man turning that foundation into trophies.
The great what-if remains: a Camp Nou roaring for Messi, Neymar and Pedro one last time. Instead, the future belongs to Raphinha, Pedri and Yamal. And Barcelona will be judged on whether that gamble defines a new golden era, or a chance that slipped away.
