Ex-Barcelona midfielder Pjanic: Xavi Hernandez wanted me to stay

Miralem Pjanic's experience at Barcelona was not as expected. After signing following several good seasons with Juventus, he never found his best level at Camp Nou. Therefore, after one season under Ronald Koeman and a year on loan at Besiktas, he decided to leave in the summer aware that minutes would be hard to come by under Xavi Hernandez.

Now, in the United Arab Emirates, he has been speaking about his time at the club, once again recognising that he did not get along with Koeman, but adding that he had the backing of Xavi. However, the Bosnian preferred to leave in search of minutes.

"Xavi wanted me to stay, it was me that decided to leave," he told beIN. "I was there for the first games, the coach spoke with me a lot, but I wanted to play more. I would have liked to have done better at Barça.

"At the beginning, it was good with Koeman. He told me he was happy that I came to the club. But after it did not go as expected. With Koeman, I played now and again, but I expected to play more. I was ready for that, but I never reached the starting lineup really."