NEW YORK – You won’t find many bigger fans of Spanish international Xavi Hernandez than Jason Kreis.
But for as much as the New York City FC head coach admires the game of the Barcelona midfielder, signing another Designated Player in the midfield north of 30 years old doesn’t necessarily fit into the expansion club’s plans.
“When you think about a player like Xavi Hernandez, for me one of the best players in the world ever, a big, big fan of his, you say to yourself on one side there’s no doubt a player like that would be great at New York City,” Kreis said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“But when you look at it from another point of view and you say you only get three [Designated Players] and we’ve already got another one that plays in the midfield and you’ve got a third one in David Villa whose all relative age are getting up there, you start to think maybe not.”
NYCFC already has two Designated Players in 36-year-old midfielder Frank Lampard, who will join the club in the summer after Manchester City’s season is over, and 33-year-old Spanish forward David Villa, who is close friends with Xavi.
The debate that rages on in message boards is a similar one Kreis said he wages about the possibility of adding Xavi to his roster.
“I would say I’m really split, on the fence,” Kreis said. “I’m a huge fan of Xavi Hernandez, I think he would be a huge player in this league, no doubt about it, huge for New York City, huge for our club, but positionally I don’t know it makes the best sense and the most sense, but I’m open for anything.”
Villa said he’s spoken to Xavi, but is also realistic about his future, pointing out that his international and former club teammate is currently on Barca’s payroll and has another year left on his contract with the La Liga giants.
“Of course, Xavi would be a good fit in any league, on any team,” Villa said. “He’s a world-class player and anybody from MLS or from this team who likes soccer would receive him with open arms. I just hope he would come and be with us and be part of the team. You can have many hopes in life, but not all of those dreams are going to come true.”
