Sergino Dest has accused former Barcelona manager Xavi of not being “honest” with him near the end of his tenure in Catalonia, claiming he was not given the “necessary opportunities”.
Dest joined Barcelona in June 2020 and was a regular starter under Ronald Koeman in his first season, earning 44 games.
Dest played 31 times for Barcelona the next season, when management passed from Koeman to club legend Xavi.
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The United States international eventually fell out of favour, being loaned out to AC Milan and PSV in successive seasons. The 23-year-old joined PSV on a permanent basis in the summer and does not have fond memories of his time at Barcelona under Xavi.
“I don’t think he was honest with me,” said Dest to Diario SPORT. “We had several conversations where he told me one thing, but then I doubted whether it was true. In the summer, before going on vacation, he told me ‘I’m counting on you, don’t read the press.'” And as soon as I got back, he told me, ‘you have to go’.”
In recent years, Barca’s transfer business has become more complicated, with the club only able to register a limited number of players due to financial fair play concerns.
Dest went on to discuss his experience at the club and how he felt he had to “play within limits” in Xavi’s system.
“I wouldn’t say I regret it [time at Barca], because in the end, it wasn’t something that depended on me,” explained the player.
“But I don’t feel like I had enough opportunities with Xavi. I felt as if I had to play inside boundaries, that I wasn’t myself.
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