The new Oranje boss explicitly made it clear that stellar performances on the pitch are the only metric that matters to his coaching staff, regardless of whether a player is based in the Premier League, La Liga, or the Middle East. When asked by journalists if he follows the Saudi league and whether he ranks it higher than the Dutch Eredivisie amid criticisms regarding a lack of player ambition in the region, Xavi responded candidly about keeping an open mind to selections from across the globe:
“Yes, I do a bit. A good league, no?” “Also we already follow the league, is a good league as well and maybe we choose some players from Saudi, from Premier League, from La Liga. I don’t care about the ligas, I care about the performance and the players. This is the most important thing.”