Barcelona: Xavi Backs Riyad Mahrez For Blaugrana

Barcelona legend Xavi thinks Riyad Mahrez is good enough for his old club

Riyad Mahrez is an excellent example of how quickly reputations, and fortunes, of a player can change. Plucked from French club Le Havre in 2014 for a reported fee of around £400,000, the Algerian winger’s family had reservations about him playing for a club in the English Championship.

They were worried that he may not be a good fit in English football because of the physical nature of it but they could not have been more wrong. It took him some time to adapt initially but became an influential player for Leicester City as they won promotion to the Premier League.

Mahrez was instrumental in their push to stay up last season but was largely overshadowed by the likes of Jamie Vardy and Esteban Cambiasso. It turns out he was simply biding his time before exploding on the scene in 2015-16.

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The winger has set the Premier League alight this season and is the runaway favorite for the PFA Player of the Year award. Jamie Vardy was doing a lot of the scoring and headline-grabbing with his streak and his Cinderella story, but Mahrez was equally as important to the club’s success.

With just seven games left in the season Mahrez has helped Leicester jump to the top of the table and five points clear of second-place Tottenham. His play this season has had him linked with every major club in Europe and Barcelona are among them.

Barcelona legend Xavi was asked about Mahrez and had this to say, as quoted by Sky Sports:

"“He is a very good player. He suddenly came to my attention this season, I didn’t know about him before, but this season he has blown up. He has made a name for himself among the top names in the English league and played exceptionally well. Thanks to what he has done for his club, he can now play for any big club in Europe.[Asked if he could play for Barca] Yeah, why not? He could play for Barcelona in the future. He is talented, but that is not in my hands these days!”"

What Barcelona players generally mean when they say that someone is good enough for Barca is that they would be a good fit for the club’s style of play. Riyad Mahrez has shown that he has the technical ability to match the best of them and his tenacity on and off the ball is unquestioned.

While Leicester has its eyes set on staying at the top of the table and making some noise in the Champions League next year, it would be hard for the winger to not have his head turned if they came calling for him. It would be a shame to see another great talent leave England for Spain but it is not the first time it has happened and it would certainly not be the last.

Next: Which Premier League Players Are Headed to Euro 2016

Leicester City fans must be cringing at every headline they see about their stars leaving the King Power Stadium but they may be too delirious to even care at this point.

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