Xavi deserves the Ballon d’Or – Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes Barcelona star Xavi deserves to have won the Ballon d’Or and is frustrated that it seems he will never be given the award.

Many players and pundits felt either Xavi or Andres Iniesta should have won the accolade back in 2010 after Spain won the World Cup, but instead it went to Lionel Messi, who has now won it four times in his career.

Xavi has revealed he will be leaving Barca at the end of the season to join Qatari side Al Sadd, and Mourinho believes that, after everything the midfielder has achieved in his career, it is the one remaining award he deserves.

“Xavi is one of the world’s best players over the past decade and he deserves to win what he will never have – a Ballon d’Or success”, the Portuguese coach told reporters.

The 35-year-old’s final game with the Blaugrana will be the Champions League final against Juventus on June 6 and Mourinho feels no teams deserve to be there more than the Spanish and Italian champions.

“Barcelona and Juventus both deserve to be in Berlin,” he said. 

“They had good seasons and proved to be far superior to the teams they faced in the semi-finals.