Xavi doesn’t want Hector Bellerin back at Barcelona (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona legend and potential future manager Xavi has ruled out re-signing Hector Bellerin from Arsenal after criticising him for leaving the club so young.

The 22-year-old has been strongly linked with a move back to the Nou Camp for much of this summer after developing into one of the finest right-backs in Europe in his time with the Gunners.

However, Xavi himself is not keen on the idea of re-signing players who once decided to leave the club, despite big names like Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique returning for second spells during his time there as a player.

Xavi is widely tipped to land the Barca job in the future (Picture: Getty)
Xavi didn’t seem to have the same issue welcoming Cesc Fabregas back (Picture: Getty)
Xavi didn’t seem to have the same issue welcoming Cesc Fabregas back (Picture: Getty)

The 37-year-old, who has admitted he’d like to be Barcelona manager one day, did not respond positively to questions about bringing Bellerin back, and questioned his decision to leave in the first place.

‘I haven’t seen him (Bellerin) play much, but I’ll say one thing: it would be difficult for me to sign a player we’d already had,’ Xavi told Sport.

‘Yes, it can turn out good, bad or average. But I’m not in favour of re-signing players who have left.

‘Why do they leave at 16 or 17? It seems ridiculous to me. I don’t understand it.’

Fabregas was talked up as a Barca target for years before his departure from Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Changed his tune: Xavi on Fabregas in 2009

‘I’d like to play with him. I’ve always said that in the national team I link up with Cesc very well, despite the fact that many say we can’t play together.

‘We demonstrated in the final of the European Championship that isn’t true.

‘I especially hope that Cesc comes. He is a football player with Barca DNA and he is showing at Arsenal that he is on another level.

‘I would love him to sign and that we could play together at Barca. Clearly, a lot of his career is ahead of him and I think that in the future will be at Barca.’

Jon Toral notably followed Bellerin in leaving Barcelona for Arsenal, and Xavi feels more sympathetic to him because he has English family, but says there is no way back for Bellerin.

He added: ‘I understand if you want to go, it’s for a reason. Like Toral, he left because his mum’s English. Ok, but it is what it is. The ship’s sailed.’

Barcelona seem to agree that Bellerin should no longer be a target, with reports today that the Catalan giants are closing in on a deal for Benfica’s Nelson Semedo as an alternative.

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