Cesc Fabregas, a former midfielder for Barcelona, gave his honest opinion on the current state of Camp Nou defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.

In the 2022–2023 season, Pique and Alba have only occasionally started for Barcelona, spending the majority of their time warming the bench.

Pique has only played 135 minutes of football in two games for Barcelona, while Alba has played 216 minutes in four games.

However, Fabregas, a former teammate of Pique and Alba, believes the pair would struggle to come to terms with their rotational roles under the manager, Xavi.

The former Chelsea and Arsenal star, who went through something similar at AS Monaco, claimed it would hurt the two Barcelona veterans to train with substitutes following a match while the first-team players recover.

Speaking on the players’ current situations at Barca, Fabregas told RAC1, “It costs a lot to accept the substitution.

“What must cost them more when they don’t play is that the next day you have to work with the substitutes while the starters recover.”

Speaking of Xavi’s attempt to establish a new order at Barcelona, Fabregas added: “It may have come to him sooner than he imagined, but he is very much prepared." In the end, he is still Xavi, and that always gives you important credit. "