Barcelona’s Xavi & Andres Iniesta praise ‘extraordinary’ Manchester United: They are on a spectacular level

Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, Barcelona

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Barcelona’s midfield maestros Xavi and Andres Iniesta have heaped praise on Manchester United before their Champions League encounter on Saturday.

The pair, who came second and third in Fifa’s Ballon D’Or behind team-mate Lionel Messi, have both won the competition twice in recent years and their passing ability has been lauded by Sir Alex Ferguson, who said after the 2009 final: “I don’t think Xavi and Iniesta have ever given the ball away in their lives.”

Although Barcelona go into Saturday’s final as favourites after a bad-tempered and controversial victory over great rivals Real Madrid in the last round, both players are fully aware of the threat posed by United, who are in their third Champions League final in four years.

Speaking to reporters, Xavi said: “They haven’t only got talent, they work well in defence, they are compact, they have many variants in attack.

“If they score a goal they close up at the back and play on the counter – they have a lot of tactical options.

“What Manchester United have done over the years has so much merit.

“They have been playing for many years at an extraordinary level, they have won many trophies, they have been competing consistently, getting to Champions League semi-finals and finals.

“They are on a spectacular level; all the footballers are at an extraordinary level.

“What Ferguson has done, what Scholes and Giggs have done – to be competing like they have, year after year, has a lot of merit.”

Iniesta, who scored the winning goal in last summer’s World Cup, is also ready for the final and feels physically good despite enduring a long season, which has seen Barcelona win a third successive La Liga crown and get to the final of the Copa del Rey.

He said: “I’m in good shape.

“The fact that I can compete at 100 per cent with no niggling injuries is great – I hope we can win it again.”

And he too praised the quality of English football, adding: “Football in England is special, it’s a country with great players, the stadiums are nice, and the culture, the people – how they live football and the matches – mean that it’s always special to beat the English.”