Barca Legend Xavi Impressed by England's Lower Leagues and Follows Middlesbrough

Of all the teams you might expect a player of Xavi's calibre to follow, a Championship side are probably not one of them.

The Spain and Barcelona legend admitted to Amitai Winehouse of the Yorkshire Post that he has somewhat of a soft spot for the lower leagues in English football, confessing that he is a follower of Middlesbrough's fortunes because of the presence of manager Aitor Karanka.

“I met a boy the other day. English," said Xavi, who now plays for Qatari side Al Sadd. "He was wearing a Barca shirt but I asked him who he supported. He said: ‘Sheffield United’. I know them, they have 20,000 fans in the third division. That’s incredible. You get that in England."

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Xavi is impressed by the support behind the teams below England's top tier.

“I watched some of a game with Charlton the other day. There was football on television, yet the stadium was packed with supporters. Incredible.

“If that was in Catalonia, Olot vs. Reus, then there were would be a few people there and the families of the players.”

[Yorkshire Post]