Xavi: Puyol taught me a life lesson

Xavi has hailed Barcelona team-mate Carles Puyol as an example to follow as the 36-year-old prepares to call time on his Camp Nou career.

Barcelona held a farewell ceremony for the iconic defender on Thursday, who will leave the club this summer after making over 500 official appearances for between 1999 and 2014.

Xavi spoke on behalf of the squad to thank Puyol for his remarkable achievements at the club at paid particular tribute to his decision to let Eric Abidal - who had recently recovered from a battle with liver cancer at the time - lift the Champions League trophy in 2011.

"We have a lot to thank you for: sacrifice, bravery, generosity. You're the most professional player I've ever shared a dressing room with," Xavi said.

"I'll never forget the final at Wembley when I told you that you should lift the cup, even though you'd only played for a few minutes, and you turned round and said to me: 'No, Xavi, Abidal has to lift the cup.'

"You gave me a life lesson. You've always been there for everyone, for the injured, for those who played less, giving them encouragement and advice.

"I'm so proud to have shared my career with you, and I would love to share a project with you here at the club in the future. You are Barcelona, and the club needs you."

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Xavi: Barcelona miss Guardiola at times

Barcelona midfielder Xavi admits that the Catalan giants miss certain aspects of former head coach Pep Guardiola's football philosophy.

Guardiola enjoyed a trophy-laden four years at Camp Nou, during which his side secured three La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs.

The 42-year-old departed the Spanish champions in 2012, taking a short sabbatical before joining Bundesliga holders Bayern Munich in the close-season.

And Xavi hailed the "extraordinary project" engineered by Guardiola during his time in Spain.

"Pep made his job in Barcelona. We are so proud he was our manager," he said. "(We had) four years when we won plenty of trophies. He led an extraordinary project until he decided to leave for a gap year and nowadays he is doing a brilliant job in Bayern Munich.

"Obviously, we miss things from him, as (we do) the other managers who left the club. We have another coach, we had [Tito] Vilanova last year and Tata [Gerardo] Martino this season.

"Each person has a different way to work. Guardiola had his way, Vilanova too and Martino as well. All of them are good managers and we were lucky with Guardiola because we made history."

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Xavi: No-one better than Barcelona

Xavi says that no other side in Europe is playing at the same level as Barcelona right now.

Gerardo Martino's men currently sit atop of the Liga table with 37 points from 13 games and their influential playmaker claims that even though the Catalans are not quite at their brilliant best, they are still a cut above all of their rivals.

"Perhaps now we are not at the level of a '10', but we are still remarkably high. We can still reach excellence, but we are doing fine," Xavi told Mundo Deportivo.

"We have to work to reach that level again. But the question we should ask is - what team is playing better than Barca? No one is.

"We are in good form, we have improved and are progressing without drama and understand that there are discussions around the club and that is this club's requirement."

The Spain international then went on to discuss Lionel Messi's fitness problems and insisted that the Argentine will bounce back from his muscular problems.

"He is a very tough guy, mentally strong and he will return," Xavi declared. "He has had four or five years playing everything, remaining decisive in all the games, scoring two or three goals in many of them.

"He is the best in the world but the body says enough and so he must stop. The most important thing is that he recovers well.

"For us, he is the No.1 and we need him a lot. In January, he will return and prove to be the best."

Messi has been ruled out of action for the remainder of the year with a hamstring tear.

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Xavi : Lahm will be a top midlefielder

Barcelona star Xavi says Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm can become a "top midfield player" following his positional switch.

The 29-year-old made his name as a full-back but has flourished in a central role since filling in for the injured Javi Martinez at the Allianz Arena, and Xavi believes it has made him an even more formidable opponent.

"Lahm is a top player with a lot of personality, who can play anywhere on the pitch," the Spain midfielder told Sport Bild.

"He seems to be getting even better. He has what it takes to be a top midfield player."

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola added a glowing endorsement of Lahm's transition and firmly believes the Germany international is the right man at the base of his midfield.

"The way Lahm has been playing in recent games, I think it is impossible that anybody could have played any better there," he said.

"In the 1-1 draw with Leverkusen last weekend he completely dominated the midfield. He had 115 touches."

Finally, Lahm himself admitted he is relishing his new role, having played the large majority of his career in defence.

"I love it in the middle, it is a lot of fun."

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