Barcelona new signing feels cheated by Xavi due to lack of game time: Reports
Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie is reportedly starting to feel cheated by his lack of game time at his new club.
According to El Nacional, the 25-year-old is becoming increasingly frustrated with manager Xavi Hernandez due to the situation.
Kessie moved to Barcelona in the summer on a free transfer from AC Milan. He attracted interest from several of Europe's biggest clubs but chose the Blaugrana.
🎙️ BarçaTV Analyst: "Most would agree with a midfield of Busquets-Pedri-Gavi, but some say we need physical strength like Kessié instead of Gavi. And whenever I hear that I watch Gavi's last matches and I can tell that no one is stronger than him physically on the field!" 🦾 https://t.co/5CxCIeBup3
The Ivorian played 223 times for Milan across five seasons and helped them win their first Serie A title in a decade last season. He was considered one of the hottest free agents of the summer and joined the Catalonian giants with the expectation of being a first-team regular.
However, Kessie has so far been a backup option this summer, having only played 127 minutes over five matches in all competitions. He came on for the final nine minutes of Barcelona's Champions League defeat and the report claims that the midfielder feels he may have made a mistake joining the Catalans.
With the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets all currently ahead of him in the pecking order, Kessie will have to remain patient for now. However, with a brutal fixture list coming up due to the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, the combative midfielder will surely receive his chance before long.
Kessie scored 19 league goals over the last two seasons 👀 https://t.co/FbxlBNvWXX
Xavi Hernandez admits he was 'p****d off' with Barcelona's defeat against Bayern Munich
The Blaugrana had plenty of chances to take the lead in their Champions League match against Bayern Munich on September 13. Robert Lewandowski squandered two glorious opportunities in the first half against his old side.
The Bundesliga champions punished Barcelona for their wastefulness in front of goal. Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane gave them a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena.
After the full-time whistle, Xavi couldn't hide his frustration at the defeat, as he told the press (as per The Mirror):
"I'm p***** off. I'm p***** off. I don't like to lose - and we didn't deserve it. I think we were better, we dominated them. We made six or seven big goal chances but missed them and Bayern took their opportunity."
He added:
"We competed, we played very well and had we scored it would have been a completely different match. This is the Champions League though, you need to compete and you try to avoid the marking error at the corner which let them go 1-0 up."
Xavi was also frustrated at Barcelona's defending from set-pieces as Hernandez scored from a corner. He said:
"No way should our rival be allowed to score from a failure of marking at a corner when we have the match under control. Or to score down the middle on a counter attack. We must learn from these mistakes. We can't let them off the hook so much."
Xavi Hernández: "When you fail to take advantage of your chances in the Champions League, you end up paying for it. We have been better than Bayern. But they do take advantage of the chances, that's the difference." #fcblive 🎙
Barcelona will next face Elche at home in La Liga on Saturday, September 17.