It will be hard and it will hurt' to see Messi in a PSG shirt – Xavi and Iniesta admit
Iniesta and Xavi were second and third respectively as Messi won the 2010 Ballon d'Or.
Sebastian Nkrumah Listowell 
Barcelona’s legendary midfield duo, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta admit it will be 'hard and hurting to see former team-mate, Lionel Messi, in a PSG shirt after he signed a stunning £1m a week two-year deal on Tuesday.
Messi, who captained Barca and won 31 major trophies during 21 years at the Camp Nou, emotionally departed the club last week after being unable to sign a new deal due to financial restrictions.
Xavi admitted he was 'so sad' for his former team-mate, with whom he won seven La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues after he put pen-to-paper on his sensational new deal in the French capital.
“It's a pity to see he and the club couldn't find a solution.
“I know that Leo wanted to stay, but in the end, it could not be sorted. The only thing I can say now is that I will miss him a lot.
“It's even hard for me to picture Messi with a shirt other than Barca's. It's sad for Leo, especially for how I saw him emotionally at the Camp Nou the other day, but for FC Barcelona as well.” ' Xavi told The Times.
Meanwhile, Iniesta, who is still playing for Japanese club Vissel Kobe after leaving Barca in 2018, told AFP that, “I don't know what happened internally, nor how things unfolded, but the club will need to recover from this transfer.
“It will hurt to see him in another team's shirt. He was everything, he's a player who transcends the team.
“I've never seen a player like him and I don't think I ever will.
“Barcelona will continue to be one of the best teams, one of those that has to be on the summit.”
Iniesta and Xavi were second and third respectively as Messi won the 2010 Ballon d'Or. They were the trio in Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barca team, as well as Luis Enrique's 2015 treble-winners.
Meanwhile, Barca fans were critical of President Joan Laporta, as well as La Liga boss Javier Tebas, after Messi was forced to leave the club in emotional circumstances last week with the fallout at the Nou Camp likely to continue in the coming weeks.
