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Xavi insists Barcelona are 'far superior' to Real Madrid after Clasico victory

11/12/2011 18:10

The Catalan playmaker feels his side have now proved that they hold a significant advantage over Jose Mourinho's men, before plugging team-mate Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or

Xavi has proclaimed that Barcelona are 'far superior' to Real Madrid, following his side's 3-1 triumph over their arch-rivals in the Clasico on Saturday night.

The 31-year-old told La Sexta after the derby encounter that the Spanish champions have successfully overcome a test of their credentials against the Blancos, who he believes are a step in class below his side.

"We were very superior to Real Madrid today," said Xavi. "We wanted to be brave here. We know that you can not win otherwise and the team played a great match in every department. We are far superior to Real Madrid."

Strikes from Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas and a Marcelo own goal awarded the seventh and final Clasico fixture of 2011 to Barcelona, as well as a crucial three points to put the Blaugrana level with Real Madrid in La Liga, and the World Cup winner offered his analysis of how the match unfolded.

"The issue was not to lose our philosophy," he continued. "[Goalkeeper] Victor Valdes has been very brave in spite of the initial error and was able to recover and play very well.

"I am very happy about everything, for the victory, and the most important thing is that collectively we played a great game and we were very superior."

The 2010 World Cup winner was also quizzed on if he expects to be presented with the Ballon d'Or at the end of the year, but in his mind there was only one worthy winner of the accolade.

"[Me as a Ballon d'Or winner?] No, Lionel Messi, without a doubt," he affirmed.

Barcelona's next match is on December 15, as they now prepare to kick off their Club World Cup campaign in Japan, and the midfielder underlined his side's ambitions of returning home with the trophy.

He concluded: "We leave [for the Club World Cup] with a good taste in our mouths and we leave with the intention of winning the tournament."