Barcelona coach Xavi has warned Memphis Depay he faces a battle for his place ahead of their Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Real Madrid.
With Ansu and Ferran only just coming back from injuries, Memphis is one of the attackers likely to fill the three spots after returning from an injury of his own against Granada at the weekend, but Xavi left some doubts about that in his press conference on Tuesday.
“He’s as important as the rest,” Xavi said. “At the end of the day, (the team is picked) on merit. There’s a lot of competition. Luckily, we have a squad with a lot of the first team available now and the competition starts for everyone.”
The coach insisted that there is no hierarchy in that sense: “It’s a meritocracy and those that earn it will play. That’s how it’s always been for me. The best player will play regardless of their name. That way things will go well.”
