Xavi Hernandez said on Tuesday he felt “liberated” after announcing that he would step down as Barcelona coach at the end of the season.

The former Barca midfielder said he would leave the club following a damaging 5-3 defeat by Villarreal last weekend which left his team well off the pace in their La Liga title defence.

Xavi had repeatedly said the job was his “dream” but admitted the pressure of the role eventually proved too much.

“You are made to feel every day that you are not good enough,” he told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s game against Osasuna.

“It happened to all the coaches: Pep (Guardiola) told me, it happened to (Ernesto) Valverde, I saw Luis Enrique suffer.”

Read the full story on the Times of Malta sports website...

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