Xavi hopes Atletico Madrid's Luis Suarez receives a standing ovation from Barcelona's supporters on Sunday, as he ranked the Uruguayan alongside Samuel Eto'o as "the best modern-day Barca centre forward".

Suarez left Barca – in frustrating circumstances for the former Liverpool star and his close friend Lionel Messi – in 2020, with then-coach Ronald Koeman having deemed him surplus to requirements.

Barca's decision backfired as Suarez went on to propel Atleti to their second LaLiga title under Diego Simeone, scoring 21 top-flight goals last season.

The 35-year-old scored 198 goals for Barca between 2014 and 2020, netting once every 120 minutes, and said he was "disrespected" by the club when they decided to ship him out.

Xavi played alongside Suarez in his first season at Camp Nou, and believes the forward must be categorised as a modern-day great at Barca.

"I think he deserves a standing ovation," Xavi said of Suarez in a news conference previewing Sunday's clash with Atleti.

"The best modern-day Barca centre forward, with Eto'o. He has been great. You have to welcome him with honour. 

"The pity is that he couldn't leave with a great tribute because of COVID."

Antoine Griezmann could well partner Suarez up top, with the France attacker returning to his parent club. 

Griezmann has played more LaLiga games for Atleti against Barcelona without scoring than any other opponent (11).

Xavi, meanwhile, is facing Atleti for the first time as a coach. As a player, he lost none of his last eight appearances against Los Rojiblancos in the competition (W6 D2).

Barca would move above Atleti should they win, though if Atleti triumph, Diego Simeone will surpass Slovakian Ferdinand Daucik (234) for the most LaLiga victories by a non-Spanish manager in the competition's history.

Asked for his thoughts on Simeone's style of play, Xavi said: "It wouldn't be Barca's style, it wouldn't fit in, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have merit and isn't competitive. 

"People wouldn't understand if we were defensive. They win and it's legal to play like that, but it's not my style. It doesn't mean I don't admire him. Cholo is a great coach, it's not a criticism."

Barca are well adrift of LaLiga leaders Real Madrid, and Xavi understands that his priority is securing Champions League qualification.

"At the moment I want to enter the Champions League and then I don't rule anything out knowing the difficulty," he said. "We are 15 points down with one game in hand. We have to be realists."

Karim Benzema will not be fit to return for Real Madrid's clash with Granada on Sunday, while head coach Carlo Ancelotti insists he has no personal issue with Eden Hazard.

LaLiga top scorer Benzema missed the midweek Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao with a hamstring complaint.

He was pictured training on Friday, but the France striker will once again miss out for the league leaders, who are without Vinicius Jr through suspension..

"Benzema won't play. He's improved, but he's not 100 per cent yet. He trained yesterday but not today, we've got to wait two or three more days," head coach Ancelotti told a pre-match news conference.

"The team are ready, we know Vinicius and Karim are both out."

Ancelotti acknowledged the importance of Benzema to his team but dismissed the notion Madrid are overly reliant on their talisman.

"Of course we're missing Benzema, he's the top scorer in the league, scoring lots of goals this season for Real Madrid," Ancelotti said.

"I think you look at teams and their Benzemas [star player], if they miss that player of course it's a big loss, it's a blow. 

"Without Benzema it's tougher, but without Benzema we've won games. I think we've done well without Karim Benzema."

Hazard's form has flattered to deceive since joining in a big-money move from Chelsea in 2019, though a star turn in a 2-1 win at Athletic back in December prompted praise from Ancelotti.

Since then, though, minutes have been hard to come by for the Belgium forward, who was an unused substitute for the Copa setback.

Asked about Hazard, Ancelotti replied: "There's no issues between myself and the player, he's training, he's now fit.

"But then I have to decide who I think is the best team. But I just preferred a different player. Hazard played against Elche [in the previous round of the Copa], scored after he came on, it's not as if he's not playing. He has been playing.

"There's not a personal issue with him, there's not a physical issue either, there's no issue we're not sharing about Hazard. No secrets."

Team-mate Gareth Bale was also not utilised in the Copa fixture and was filmed seemingly chuckling when Hazard was told to sit back down with 18 minutes remaining having gone out to warm up.

Ancelotti said he did not see the incident.

"I didn't see it, I don't know why he laughed, and it doesn't seem important to me," the Italian said.

"We wanted to put Hazard on in extra time and that's why he warmed up. Three players have to warm up, that's the maximum. I wanted my players warming up, taking turns, I couldn't send six players to warm up."

Madrid's Copa exit followed a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against Elche in LaLiga last week, with Los Blancos enduring a dip in form.

Ancelotti, though, says he has no issue with any criticism that comes his way.

"I'm not hurt, I'm used to this, to living these moments. It's a confirmation that I'm the coach of Real Madrid and you always have to make decisions, and sometimes you're right and you're wrong. Nothing new," he said.

"I'm so happy that I'm manager here, I don't mind criticism. It keeps me on my toes. It also makes you think things through a bit more."

Declan Rice has long since been linked with a move to Manchester United and the Red Devils' pursuit is reportedly set to step up a notch.

England midfielder Rice is a man seemingly in demand, even though suitors will likely have to stump up a minimum of £100million to land him.

With Manchester City and Chelsea also said to be interested, United are aiming to be at the front of the queue for his signature.

TOP STORY – RICE A MAN IN DEMAND

Manchester United are likely to wait until a permanent manager is in place to make their moves in the market, with Ralf Rangnick remaining in charge on a temporary basis until the end of the campaign.

But the Mirror reports that Rice remains high on their list of priorities with United aiming to overhaul their midfield ahead of next season.

Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips and RB Leipzig's Amadou Haidara are apparently also high on United's shortlist of targets.

ROUND-UP

- The Red Devils are set to be busy in the close-season with Barcelona's highly rated centre-back Ronald Araujo on their radar, according to the Mirror. The defender, who is entering the final 18 months of his contract, is thought to be attracting interest from Manchester City too.

- Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash has emerged as a transfer target for LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid, according to Fabrizio Romano. Atleti allowed Kieran Trippier to join Newcastle United in January.

- The Sun reported that Arsenal are set to complete a triple swoop for Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad and Wolves' Ruben Neves in the next transfer window.

- Lille centre-back Sven Botman is still high on Newcastle United's radar despite a deal not being able to be struck during the last window, says the Athletic.

- Victor Osimhen remains a top target for Tottenham, writes Football Insider. Spurs will need to stump up around £60m to land the Napoli striker.

Dani Alves is urging Barcelona to make the most of Ousmane Dembele while they can, but he also reminded the France forward he has a duty to "defend the shirt" as long as he remains at Camp Nou.

Dembele was strongly linked with a move away from Barca in January after his agent and the club came to an impasse in contract negotiations.

His current deal expires in June, meaning Dembele is already eligible to discuss free transfers with other clubs, though Barca have made no secret of their desire to keep him.

Nevertheless, Joan Laporta claimed Dembele ultimately rejected a transfer to an English club on deadline day, a decision that left the club president somewhat baffled and assuming he already had an agreement with another team for next season.

Laporta accepted it would be up to head coach Xavi whether Dembele was selected for the rest of the season, though Alves seems to think Barca should make use of his talents while they can.

Speaking on Movistar's #Vamos show, Alves said: "This kind of thing happens in football, but as long as he stays at Barca, he has to defend the shirt.

"If he goes at the end of the season, then so be it, but there are still five months left. You have to take advantage of being here.

"One has to be smarter than the situation. We have to think intelligently and take advantage of the fact that we have the player.

"We need unity in the entire locker room. You have to create a healthy environment of positivity, in which there are no bad vibes. If everyone contributes their own, Barca will come back, that is everyone's goal."

Alves returned to Camp Nou in November after leaving Sao Paulo and was eventually able to be registered at the start of 2022.

Three more new signings arrived in January as Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined the club.

But due to UEFA regulations only permitting three squad alterations ahead of the knockout phases of its club competitions, one of the new arrivals had to be left off their Europa League list.

Alves was the unfortunate one and, while he acknowledged a degree of frustration at the decision, he insisted he was not about to make a big deal of it.

"The coach knows what I think," he said. "I am always focused on trying to contribute as much as I can.

"We are employees. The club decides. I came to help, to add things, to bring a degree of competitiveness and winning spirit.

"If helping means staying out [of the squad], fine. They are phases of life that one has to accept.

"I would've liked to be in the squad, but unfortunately there were four players for three spots. I'm not going to catch bad vibes, I will continue trying to help."

Jesse Lingard remained at Manchester United beyond the January transfer window, but the England international's long-term future at Old Trafford is far from certain.

After struggling for appearances this term under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick, Lingard's time at United may be reaching its natural conclusion.

A number of teams have been tipped to move for the 29-year-old at the end of the campaign, at which point he will officially become a free agent.

TOP STORY - LINGARD ON JUVE'S RADAR

Juventus have been unable to agree fresh terms with Paulo Dybala and, according to Calciomercato, plans are already in place to bring in a replacement in the next window.

The report claims that Juve are big fans of Lingard, despite his limited playing time this season, and will attempt to see off competition for his signature.

Newcastle United and West Ham, where Lingard spent a successful period on loan in 2020-21, have also been tipped to move for the United academy product.

ROUND-UP

- Barcelona have taken the first steps towards signing soon-to-be free agent Marcelo Brozovic from Inter at the end of the season, according to Calciomercato. 

- Transfer expert Ekrem Konur claims that Manchester City are confident of agreeing fresh terms with Ilkay Gundogan amid interest from England, Spain and Germany.

- Juve have recently been tipped to move for Nicolo Zaniolo, and Calciomercato suggests that Roma will allow the midfielder to leave should his €40million valuation be met.

- Marco Asensio is open to extending his contract with Real Madrid beyond the end of next season, despite not being first choice. That is according to Goal.

- Douglas Costa has agreed to join Los Angeles Galaxy from Juventus on an initial 18-month contract, claims Fabrizio Romano, with a deal set to be confirmed early next week.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang believes he can become a Champions League winner with Barcelona and expects Xavi to use him as a number nine.

Released by Arsenal after a turbulent end to his Gunners career, Aubameyang described coming to Barcelona as "the opportunity of my life".

The 32-year-old forward has been brought in to add experience and goals to a Barcelona team who have been short on both counts this season.

For all the talented youngsters being brought through, Barcelona sit fifth in LaLiga after 21 games, having won only nine times so far.

Aubameyang follows Ferran Torres and Adama Traore in leaving the Premier League for Camp Nou in recent weeks, and while Barcelona have already been knocked out of this season's Champions League, the latest addition to Xavi's squad sees no reason why they should not be successful there next term.

"Barca is a great club that has to win the Champions League. That's why I came to Barca," Aubameyang said at his presentation.

"It's an opportunity to win the Champions League, and I'm here to do everything we can to get back into the Champions League and then go out and win it.

"It's true that I've not played for a little while, but in my head everything's very clear, and I'll be ready soon to play and help out, and I know we're going to go back to the top little by little.

"I have spoken with the coach. He sees me playing as a number nine, and I will be ready very soon to play there. If he needs me on the wing, there will be no problem with that."

Barcelona have scored just 32 goals in LaLiga so far in 2021-22, the seventh-most in the competition. This is despite them having the second-highest expected goals (xG) total of 36.9 (beaten only by Real Madrid's 44.58).

The xG metric looks at the quality of a team's chances, rather than the quality of finishing, and by bringing in Torres and Aubameyang, Barcelona will hope they can begin to make better use of their opportunities.

Aubameyang said the move had felt "like a dream" and he was "not ready to wake up", but the mention of Erling Haaland from reporters at his presentation may have been a momentary reality check.

For all that Aubameyang may bring this season, Barcelona are already looking for newer additions, and 21-year-old striker Haaland has been long linked with the club.

The Norwegian is starring for another of Aubameyang's former teams, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona president Joan Laporta ushered away enquiries at Thursday's presentation when Haaland's name was raised.

Aubameyang has scored seven goals this season at one every 159.29 minutes, while Haaland has hit 23 for Dortmund, finding the back of the net every 70.35 minutes.

"Today we're occupied and very excited with Aubameyang," Laporta said. "In June, we will strengthen the squad. We're on the right track.

"Right now, we're occupied with the present and the immediate. What we want is to try and compete for the league, and also win of course the Europa League, which are the competitions that remain today.

"That's the state of affairs today. With regard to players, it's of course work for the technical staff. There are interesting players, and we will evaluate the opportunity to incorporate those, but I'm not going to talk about that now."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is holding out hope that he can be reunited with contract rebel Ousmane Dembele in the Barcelona team.

Dembele has resisted calls to sign new terms to extend his contract, that runs out at the end of this season, and that stance has seen him exiled from matchday squads.

Barcelona were frustrated they could not sell Dembele in January, amid reported strong interest from Paris Saint-Germain, and they face losing him on a free transfer unless he can be persuaded to commit.

The 24-year-old French winger played with Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund in the 2016-17 season, and they remain close.

"I've got to tell you the truth, he's training really well," Aubameyang said at his Camp Nou presentation on Thursday.

"If anything, as a friend of Ousmane, I hope he and the club will find a solution.

"Knowing Ousmane as a player, he's a fantastic player of course. Like I said before, I hope that he finds an answer. This is something I can't decide."

Aubameyang joined the LaLiga giants after being released from his contract with Arsenal, agreeing a deal until June 2025 with an option to cut ties earlier, in June 2023. The deal includes a buy-out clause of €100million.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said Aubameyang had made "a sacrifice" to come to Barcelona, seemingly firming up the recent suggestion he has taken a pay cut.

"You know that once we have a more healthy financial situation, we will help you as you are helping Barca now," Laporta told Aubameyang.

The 32-year-old Barcelona new recruit fell out of favour with Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, resulting in him losing the captaincy at Emirates Stadium and being left out of recent squads.

Aubameyang was accused of failing to show the right level of commitment, and was punished for disciplinary breaches.

"He wasn't happy and that was it," said Aubameyang, when asked about Arteta. "I can't say anything else because that's what happened. I'm better this way.

"There were some complicated months. Sometimes football is like that. On my behalf, I never wanted to do anything bad, but OK, now I have to put this behind me."

The Gabon international added: "I'm very happy and very grateful to you, Mr President, for signing me. This is an honour for me to be here, to play for Barca, so I'm very happy.

"I hope to score an awful lot of goals for Barca. I've always had the dream to play in LaLiga. I think this is an incredible opportunity that I've dreamt of since I was a child.

"This is the opportunity of my life."

Clement Lenglet has suffered a hamstring injury, Barcelona have confirmed.

France defender Lenglet has been on the fringes for Barca this season, making just 16 appearances in all competitions, starting eight times.

The last of those appearances came against Deportivo Alaves on January 23.

It has been in stark contrast to previous seasons, when the former Sevilla centre-back was a mainstay of Barca's defence, playing 84 times in LaLiga between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

However, the 26-year-old will now be out of action for the foreseeable future, with Barca revealing he has injured the femoral biceps in his left hamstring.

No timescale has been placed on Lenglet's return.

Xavi's Barca – who made three additions to their squad in the January transfer window, albeit all of them are attackers – play Atletico Madrid on Sunday before a derby against Espanyol the following weekend.

Manchester United's search for a new full-time manager continues.

Ralf Rangnick has been in interim charge at Old Trafford since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal in November.

English powerhouse United have failed to win any silverware since 2017

TOP STORY - MAN UTD CONFIDENT ON LANDING POCHETTINO

Manchester United have renewed confidence that they will land Paris Saint-Germain head coach Pochettino as their new boss, claims The Mirror.

The Argentine is understood to be United's number one candidate for the permanent role.

Footmercato claims Pochettino is tired of the constant criticism he has received at PSG and will not stay beyond this season.

ROUND-UP

- Manchester City are on verge of tabling an offer to Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland to make him one of the highest paid players in the Premier League, according to Todofichajes.

- The Sun reports that Arsenal are planning for a £180 million off-season spend, with Real Sociedad's Alexander Isak, Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Wolves' Ruben Neves among their targets. However, this is dependent on Arsenal finishing top four.

- Chelsea will open pre-contract agreement talks with Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele after he failed to make a deadline day move, claims Sky Sports. 

- Chelsea are also eyeing a move for Real Madrid defender Eder Militao as they plan for the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, according to AS.

- Juventus and Milan are leading the race to land Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo reports Sky Italia. Roma are looking to cash in Zaniolo in the off-season, with Tottenham also interested.

Dani Alves is the new signing to miss out on Barcelona's Europa League squad after the club confirmed his omission on Wednesday.

The Brazilian, who rejoined the Blaugrana in November, was finally registered for LaLiga duty at the start of January but will not feature for the club in their European campaign.

Alves was joined at the club by fellow new arrivals Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January, but only three would be permitted to be included in the Europa League squad.

UEFA regulations prohibit any more than three new additions to European squads after the January transfer window.

As such, Barca had more new signings than free spaces, with 38-year-old Alves ultimately the one left out.

Ousmane Dembele has been included, however, despite his contract stand-off seeing tensions rise at the club over the past few weeks.

President Joan Laporta openly suggested the situation might make it "more difficult" for Dembele to feature, though he did leave that up to the discretion of head coach Xavi.

Like Alves, young forwards Ez Abde and Ferran Jutgla were left out of the selection despite breaking into the first-team squad – neither were registered with UEFA at the start of the season, nor do either qualify as a homegrown Barca player, therefore would have been competing with the new signings for spaces in the squad.

Barca face Napoli in their Europa League knockout play-off, hosting them on February 17 before going to Naples a week later.

Karim Benzema has been left out of Real Madrid's squad for the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday due to a hamstring injury. 

The fitness of France international Benzema has been a source of concern since he hobbled off in the second half of Madrid's 2-2 draw with Elche in LaLiga on January 23. 

During his pre-match news conference, Carlo Ancelotti was hopeful the striker, who has been in sensational form this season with 24 goals in 28 games in all competitions, would be fit for the trip to San Mames but insisted no risks would be taken. 

Benzema's name was not in the 22-man squad for the match against Athletic that was released later on Wednesday, prompting concerns about his fitness for the Champions League last-16 meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in less than two weeks. 

Mariano Diaz and Ferland Mendy also miss out through injury, while Marcelo is ineligible due to suspension. 

However, Marco Asensio could make his return from a hamstring injury sustained in the Supercopa de Espana success against Barcelona 

It's officially a World Cup year, that means footballers all over the globe will be hoping to get themselves into contention for their own shot at glory in Qatar.

Back in November, Stats Perform began their one-year countdown to the biggest show in football by identifying 11 uncapped players who could potential break into their respective national squads before Qatar 2022 got under way.

With February now upon us, we have revisited those players to see how they have been faring and whether a trip to World Cup looks any likelier…

Luis Maximiano (Portugal) – 23, goalkeeper, Granada

Having been one of LaLiga's form goalkeepers during the early stages of the season, Maximiano has been a little rocky lately. Since the start of December, he has conceded 10 times (excluding own goals) in the league despite those chances only being worth 7.9 xG – that puts him at least partly at fault for 2.1 goals, the sixth-worst over that period.

Jonathan Clauss (France) – 29, right-back, Lens

Clauss continues to show his worth in Ligue 1. Since December 1, his three assists have been bettered by only Dimitri Payet and Lovro Majer. Granted, the expected assists (xA) value of those was only 1.2, so there's an element of luck or benefiting from expert finishing, but he's still proving himself a good outlet both out wide and from set plays.

Bremer (Brazil) – 24, centre-back, Torino

Torino managed to keep Bremer in January before they extended his contract by a year to 2024 on Wednesday. Not only does that protect his value to the club, it was also a just reward for his reliable form. Since December 1, his tally of 21 interceptions is the second-highest among Serie A defenders, as is his 28 aerial wins.

Sven Botman (Netherlands) – 22, centre-back, Lille

Lille stood firm as Newcastle United tried to prise Botman away in January. Over the past two months, the Dutchman has continued to look an imperious presence at the back – his duel success rate (76.5 per cent) is the highest among defenders with at least 300 minutes on the pitch, while only two of those to have engaged in more than 11 aerials can better his success rate (79 per cent) in the air.

Angelino (Spain) – 25, left-back, RB Leipzig

Spain certainly aren't short of quality options in this area of the pitch, but Angelino is still a standout from an attacking sense. Since early December, his 3.0 xA is the best in the Bundesliga, while only five players have played more key passes than him (16).

Riqui Puig (Spain) – 22, midfielder, Barcelona

It's not looking good for Puig. It was thought Xavi's arrival might finally be the break he needed, but he has played only 158 minutes of LaLiga football in the past two months, and that was a period that saw Barca under real stress amid an injury and COVID-19 crisis. With players returning to action, including Pedri, few would be surprised to see his minutes reduce even further.

Christopher Nkunku (France) – 24, midfielder, RB Leipzig

Nkunku continues to look to be in with a great chance of forcing himself into France reckoning. Since we last checked on him, the versatile midfielder has scored four non-penalty Bundesliga goals, bettered by only four players (all out-and-out strikers), and laid on three assists. Only five players have tallied more goal involvements over the same period.

Alan Velasco (Argentina) – 19, winger, FC Dallas

Young talents leaving South American countries for MLS is becoming a recurring them – Velasco is the latest. The young winger became Dallas' record signing on February 1, reportedly costing $7million. He has not played much in recent months due to the Argentinian football calendar, so it will be intriguing to see if he kicks on when MLS starts again at the end of the month.

Cade Cowell (United States) – 18, forward, San Jose Earthquakes

The first success story on this list! Cowell was given his international bow in December as the USA beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0. He did only feature for 12 minutes, and it was a partly experimental squad, but a cap is a cap.

Amine Gouiri (France) – 21, forward, Nice

Gouiri is another who continues to plug away to good effect. He slowed a little, and his return of five goal involvements (three assists, two goals) in the specified period is bettered by as many as eight players, though only Payet has as many as seven. The exciting forward is still doing well, though he could do with another minor boost.

Matias Arezo (Uruguay) – 19, forward, Granada

With the Uruguayan season finishing in early December, Arezo has not played much since his form was last examined – though he did get one more goal to take his seasonal tally to 15 in 29 games for River Plate (URU). That form earned him his shot in Europe, with Granada pulling off a potentially major coup in bringing him to Spain for about €3million. He awaits a first senior cap, though Uruguay are back in an automatic qualification spot.

Jonathan Woodgate has backed Kylian Mbappe to "flourish" at Real Madrid and "be even bigger than he is in Paris Saint-Germain" if he makes the move, but the regeneration of Los Blancos' midfield is of greater concern to the former defender.

Mbappe is widely expected to leave PSG for Madrid on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The World Cup winner, who has 10 goals and nine assists in Ligue 1 this term, would boost Madrid in attack, but Carlo Ancelotti is not exactly short of firepower – his side's 47 goals the most in LaLiga and eighth-most in Europe's top five leagues.

And in striker Karim Benzema and winger Vinicius Junior, arguably Madrid's best two players occupy the positions Mbappe likes to operate in.

Benzema is 34 but has never been better, scoring 17 and assisting seven, with only Mohamed Salah (25) topping his 24 goal involvements in Europe's top-five leagues. The ever-improving Vinicius has 12 goals and five assists.

Asked by Stats Perform about Mbappe's potential transfer, Woodgate turned his focus instead to the middle of the pitch, where 32-year-old Toni Kroos (1,261) and 36-year-old Luka Modric (1,196) rank second and third for minutes played.

"[Mbappe] will be the biggest signing of the summer, if it goes through," said Woodgate, who played for Madrid between 2004 and 2007. "On a free transfer as well, it's incredible.

"He is a Galactico signing, one of the best players in the world, he'll flourish in Madrid, he'll be even bigger than he is in Paris Saint-Germain.

"But what concerns me in Madrid is with the likes of Modric, Kroos and Casemiro. That three in midfield are all getting to that stage where they're 35, 34 and then Casemiro. They need to start replacing them.

"Okay, they've got [Federico] Valverde, whatever, but that's the main area they need to start recruiting at.

"That three has been around for years and years and years. It's an incredible three in midfield, so it'll be interesting how they replace them three moving forward."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has said it is "amazing" to have Xavi as a coach after completing his move to Barcelona.

Aubameyang joined the LaLiga giants after being released from his contract with Arsenal, agreeing a contract until June 2025 with an option to cut ties earlier, in June 2023. It includes a buy-out clause of €100million.

The 32-year-old fell out with previous manager, Mikel Arteta, resulting in him losing the captaincy at the Emirates Stadium and being left out of recent squads.

Speaking to the club's official social media, Aubameyang spoke of his admiration for Xavi, a Barca legend and World Cup winner, saying: "I think that's amazing to have [Xavi] as a coach. He has been a fantastic player that everyone knows, and I'm sure that as a coach he will bring us something that we will learn, definitely."

The Gabon international also spoke of his pride in making the move to the Blaugrana, explaining that his main goal is to help them get back into the Champions League.

"I am very proud [to be here], especially because my family is Spanish as well from my mother's side so I'm just really proud and happy to be here," he said.

"My main goal is to help the team and to give everything I can to bring the team back in the Champions League. I am just happy to be here and I will try to give everything."

Another January signing was La Masia graduate Adama Traore, who joined on loan from Wolves.

However, at a media conference to present the winger, it was another wide forward already at the club who stole the headlines as for the second day in a row, Barca president Joan Laporta openly criticised Ousmane Dembele for not agreeing to a January move away from Camp Nou.

The club had been hoping to ship the France international out, with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly agreeing terms with Dembele over the weekend, but a move did not materialise.

Barca are still struggling financially as the club attempts to bounce back from previous years of mismanagement, and on Tuesday at another news conference to reveal details of the forensic review into financial irregularities by the previous regime, Laporta responded to questions on Dembele, saying he could not understand why the player had not left in January.

He followed this up with more comments on Wednesday, telling reporters: "Our [contract] offer [to Dembele] expired on December 20 and after that, there was no other proposal. We saw a lack of interest in renewing and accepting our offer which was really good. We tried to fix things but there were no options available."

Dembele, who played with Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund, is out of contract in the summer, and Laporta has said it will be up to Xavi whether he plays for the club again, while also indicating his belief that the Frenchman - who has suffered numerous injuries since arriving in Spain - has been disappointing since his big money move in 2017.

"We have a player with a contract that expires in June and the player is at the disposal of the coach, so the coach is the one who will decide whether he plays or not," he added. "But Xavi is just as surprised as all of us that Dembele has not renewed his contract.

"We invested a lot of money and we wanted to see that investment on the ground more often, but we came out a little disappointed."

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has said Karim Benzema could be fit for Thursday's Copa del Rey quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames, but warned he will not be risked unnecessarily.

The France striker – who sustained a hamstring strain in the 2-2 draw with Elche on January 23 – will train with his team-mates on Wednesday, according to Ancelotti, but the coach said he will only play if he is at "100 per cent".

Benzema has been in excellent form for the LaLiga leaders, scoring 24 goals and assisting a further nine in 28 appearances in all competitions this season.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of Thursday's game, Ancelotti said: "We don't know yet [if Benzema will play], because he's only been able to do individual work.

"He has good feelings, and now he is going to train with the group. At the end, we will make a decision. We're not going to risk it. If he has the medical discharge, he will play; if not, no."

Asked again about Benzema, Ancelotti reiterated: "The decision is simple. If he is well, he will play; if not, he will stay at home. If he is not 100 per cent, it makes no sense to put him in a game that is going to demand a lot from us."

The Italian also suggested his South American players may be able to play some part, despite only now returning from international duty after yesterday's CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.

Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo both played in Brazil's 4-0 win against Paraguay, with Casemiro an unused substitute, while Federico Valverde featured in Uruguay's 4-1 win against Venezuela. Eder Militao was allowed to return to Madrid by Brazil a few days early as he was suspended for the Paraguay game.

"We also have to assess the status of the players who have played with their national teams," Ancelotti added. "If they are just tired, they will travel. They may not start the game, but I may need them throughout the game, especially if we get to extra time.

"Vinicius and Rodrygo come back from playing, but they are 20 years old, not 60 like me. I think they can get back."

Madrid have faced Athletic three times already this season, twice in the league and once in the recent final of the Supercopa de Espana, with Los Blancos winning all three – including a 2-1 victory at San Mames just before the mid-season break.

"It's a very important match," Ancelotti added. "It's a competition in which we are very excited. It is a difficult match, against a strong opponent and a very difficult environment such as San Mames.

"We've played well the previous three games against them, but it will be a very close game. To win in San Mames, you have to get the best"

Ancelotti said he still did not know if he was going to start Thibaut Courtois or Andriy Lunin in goal, but a more pressing selection issue will be a left-back, with both Ferland Mendy and Marcelo unavailable.

"There are two options, [David] Alaba or Nacho," he said. "I've already decided, but I'm not going to say it.

"The evaluation does not depend on whether Nico Williams or [Alex] Berenguer plays. Nacho is more defensive and less used to it. Alaba gives us a lot of options with the ball and he's used to playing there."