Blaugrana icon Xavi has revealed he was very surprised to see former team-mate Neymar leave the club this summer, given it was something he didn’t see too often during his decorated 17 years at Barcelona.
In an interview with Marca, the midfielder who currently plies his trade for Al Sadd in Qatar, said: “It’s bizarre that a player doesn’t want to stay at Barcelona. It’s very rare.
“It’s been 17 years since Luis Figo left for Real Madrid. As with Neymar, it was his choice at the time.
“I do not know how it happened, if there were meetings, conversations… there are many interpretations of this transfer record.”
Xavi also said he expected the Brazilian to offer a farewell to Barelona fans and explain his reasons in detail for leaving.
The 37-year-old added: “I understand the fans are upset because Neymar gave no explanation.
“He left Barcelona without a press conference or anything… but hey, that’s how it is.
“We’ll see what he can give to PSG. What I’m sure of is that Barcelona did not expect a club to pay the 222 million euro release clause.”Now they have to manage that money.”
