The Spain striker David Villa has said he rates Chelsea's John Terry as the toughest opponent he has faced. In an exclusive interview in Saturday's Guardian, the Barcelona forward also explains why he believes his World Cup-winning team-mate Cesc Fábregas will, one day, join him at Barcelona, as well as refusing to criticise Howard Webb for the way he refereed the World Cup final.
"I don't like to criticise referees, because I believe it is a very complicated job," Villa said. "But I believe the referee himself in an interview acknowledged that [leniency]. At the World Cup most teams changed their style when they played us and maybe were more defensive. In the final we didn't know if Holland were going to do the same but the important thing was we beat them in the end.
"With Barça and Spain we find that now many teams try to replicate and imitate our style. A lot of teams are trying to play like that to keep the ball at the back, changing their own style. I guess in the future many teams will look to us as reference points and that is something we must be very proud of."
On Fábregas he added: "Cesc really is a great player and a great person. He was born here and raised here. Barcelona will always be in his heart so I guess at one time or another he will want to play here."
Surprisingly, it is another Premier League player who Villa rates as his toughest opponent. "John Terry. Not just because of his reputation for being tough but because he is a great defensive player."