Enrique: Xavi is irreplaceable

Luis Enrique has said Barcelona shouldn’t try to replace Xavi Hernandez as there isn’t another player like him.

Xavi played his last League game for La Blaugrana as the season ended with a 2-2 draw against Deportivo La Coruna and there were emotional scenes following the final whistle.

Enrique paid tribute to the veteran at his post-match Press conference, and also looked ahead to the future, including the two Cup finals still to come.

“Seeing Xavi so emotional and the wonderful reception he got is one of the memories I can have from this season,” he said, Sport reports.

“There is no replacement for Xavi because no two players are the same. We will have to adapt to play without him.

“We have two finals and seeing what the team has done so far makes us optimistic. They will be two very tough matches.

“With the support of the fans we will try and win two trophies. The treble couldn’t be more difficult.

“The result [of the League campaign] would have been the same regardless of the decision [of the President to sack Andoni Zubizarreta].

“You never know. There have been difficult decisions and ones I didn’t agree with, as I said at the time.

“Perhaps there was less stress on the team but that’s ok because they’re used to that because they’re used to maximum pressure.

“We’ve had a season with remarkable numbers and we’ve shown we have deserved what we have. When you win the League it means you have a very good season, even more so against the best Real Madrid in recent years.

“We played the game we usually do. Deportivo scored two goals and this is a result that, if we played 10 times, wouldn’t happen.”

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