Former Barça physio slams Xavi for “destroying the club’s structure on a whim”

In a wide‑ranging interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC, Juanjo Brau — former FC Barcelona fitness coach and for years one of Lionel Messi’s most trusted physios — delivers a scathing critique of Xavi Hernández, accusing the former Barça coach of dismantling a club structure that had taken years to build.

Brau, who created and led Barça’s Physiotherapy Department until his departure in 2021 following Xavi’s arrival, didn’t hold back. “We were incompatible with the people Xavi wanted to bring in. His way of working didn’t match ours, and the proof is that nothing he brought in remains,” Brau said.

“You can’t tear down club structures just because you feel like it. Everything that came afterward wasn’t better, despite the massive financial investment. None of it is still standing, and it hurt that someone from the club was the one who destroyed it.”

His comments land just as La Vanguardia published its own explosive interview with Xavi, in which the former coach took aim at nearly everyone inside the organization — especially club president Joan Laporta and executive Alejandro Echevarría.

Puyol, Messi, and Lamine Yamal...

Brau also shared lighter — and revealing — anecdotes from his years inside the locker room. With a laugh, he admitted: “Puyol was the worst patient I ever had. He always wanted to play, and he was reckless.”

He then compared Messi’s early development to that of rising star Lamine Yamal: “Leo had a huge advantage — he had an environment that protected him. Ronaldinho shielded him, and he had Henry, Eto’o… he had people around him who acted like armor. Lamine doesn’t have anyone like that today. When did Leo become a regular starter? Look at him now — he’s 38 and still performing at an incredible level.”

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