Former Barcelona talisman Xavi has taken aim at Jose Mourinho's tactical outlook, claiming that his team "didn't want to play football" during his time in charge of Real Madrid.

Mourinho spend three seasons in charge at the Bernabeu, claiming the La Liga title in 2012 as he went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola's era-defining Barcelona side.

In a wide-ranging interview in El Pais the Nou Camp legend was quick to talk down Mourinho's style of play in Spain.

"Mourinho's Madrid played directly to the space behind our back line. He told them not to pass the ball. Play fast and they had an outlet with Di Maria, Cristiano, Benzema.... Now they have Bale and others. Thy don't want to play football."

Xavi was a key part of Guardiola's Barcelona team (
Image:
AFP)

That marked a stalk contrast from how Guardiola operated at the Nou Camp, with Xavi lifting the lid on the Spaniard's eye for detail.

"Guardiola is focused on the details," he continued. "He controlled everything. I had never trained for a defensive thrown in. He would tell you where you had to be even for that. The opponent would get a thrown in and we'd all be perfectly positioned. And the guy on the other team would sometimes say: "Damn, what happened? I don't even have space for this throw in.

"Pep controlled everything."

Guardiola won all there was to win at Barca (
Image:
Getty)

The managerial pair are now locking horns again in the Premier League, with Guardiola's Manchester City a whopping 15 points clear of Mourinho's United.

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City beat Bristol City in their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg on Tuesday evening, to keep their quest for an unprecedented quadruple on track.

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