Xavi tells Rodgers to break the bank to challenge Euro giants
Barcelona legend Xavi has urged Celtic to splash the cash after watching the Hoops crash out of the Europa League to Russian giants Zenit on Thursday night.
World Cup winner Xavi believes a club of Celtic’s pedigree and history needs to be playing regularly in the Champions League.
And he insists just qualifying for the group stages isn’t enough for the 1967 winners.
He said: “Celtic are a club that I have an affection for.
“But if they want to compete in the Champions League they must add more proven quality.
“The transfer market has gone crazy over the last 12 months. Neymar changed everything.
“Not many clubs can spend 100, 150, or even 200 million Euros on a player – but 15-20 million Euros needs to be where any club with ambitions, like Celtic, needs to be spending.”
Xavi accepts the Champions League is the elite level of European competition after winning the trophy four times but is adamant this year’s Europa League is almost as strong, given the teams involved.
He said: “You look at some of the teams who are in it – Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, AC Milan, Celtic, they are big clubs.
“These are teams you are used to seeing in the knock out stages of the Champions League.
“Of course that is where all big teams want to be – but we should not underestimate the quality in the Europa League.”
The 38-year-old reckons the winner of the tournament being guaranteed Champions League group stage football next season is a huge incentive for the teams involved in the knockout stages.
Xavi said: “It’s important to win a trophy and I never want to play the importance of winning a trophy down – but you feel the biggest prize of winning the Europa Leauge is guaranteed Champions League football the next season.
“You look at the teams this year in the competition and you realise how important that is.”
Xavi thinks teams struggling in their domestic leagues should take the competition seriously and look to go all the way.
He said: “It looks difficult for Arsenal to qualify through the Premier League, almost impossible for AC Milan in Serie A, and it is not guaranteed for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga either.”