"He's extraordinary" - Xavi defends Barcelona star who was close to being sold in January

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has defended winger Raphinha after the Brazilian came under fire for his reaction to being subbed off against Manchester United.

The Blaugrana faced the Red Devils in the UEFA Europa League playoff first leg at the Camp Nou last week, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

Having taken the lead via Marcos Alonso, Barcelona found themselves chasing the game as United scored two quickfire goals close to the hour-mark. Raphinha then produced some magic as he scored in the 76th minute to make it 2-2. However, he was subbed off just seven minutes later, much to his disappointment.

The winger was seen ranting and making angry gestures for several minutes, having been taken off.

With the scores level and nearly 10 minutes still to play at the time, one can understand why Raphinha reacted the way he did. Ferran Torres came on in place of him but failed to have a similar impact on the game.

In his post-match press conference, Xavi spoke about Raphinha's reaction, saying (as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter):

"I see and understand Raphinha's anger, I was also angry. I make the changes thinking about the team and not to point fingers at anyone.

"Raphinha has apologized to me but he didn't have to. I see it as a positive that everyone wants to play."

Speaking about the faith he has bestowed on Raphinha, the Barcelona manager added:

"I'm the one who trusted him the most. He's the player with the most assists of the team. He scores, in the 1v1 he's daring more... He's extraordinary.

"When there was criticism, I had no doubt that Raphinha was going to succeed here."

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Barcelona look to maintain a healthy lead in La Liga

Before Barcelona travel to Manchester to face the Red Devils for the second leg of their Europa League tie, they will host Cadiz CF in La Liga. The Blaugrana will look to restore their eight-point advantage at the top of the standings. They secured a narrow 1-0 win over Villarreal in their last outing.

However, Real Madrid played on Saturday (February 18), defeating Osasuna 2-0 after a hard-fought encounter. The result brought them within five points of Barca, who will be in action on Sunday.

So far, Xavi's side have played 21 games in La Liga, securing 56 points. They have scored 43 goals and conceded just seven thanks to an incredible defense and the in-form Marc-Andre ter Stegen.