Xavi’s favourite English club to watch is genuinely surprising

When you've played at the very highest level then anything else must seem like an utter pile of sh*t.

And Barcelona legend Xavi falls into that category. The Spanish midfielder has won more silverware than we've had hot dinners. So when we heard that Xavi follows an English team we were taken aback. Then when we heard it was a side not even in the Premier League we were more surprised still. Then when we found out it Middlesbrough we lost our minds. Xavi's favourite English team is Middlesbrough. Let that sink in for a second. The 35-year-old, who has won a World Cup, two European Championships and four Champions League crowns, watches Boro in the Championship and even follows League One games. "I follow Middlesbrough because [fellow Spaniard, pictured below] Aitor Karanka is there," he told ESPN, "Brighton are top of their league. I met a boy the other day. English. He was wearing a Barca shirt but I asked him who he supported. He said: 'Sheffield United'. I know them, they have 20,000 fans in the third division. That's incredible." "You get that in England. I watched some of a game with Charlton the other day. There was football on television, yet the stadium was packed with supporters. Incredible. If that was in Catalonia, Olot vs. Reus, then there were would be a few people there and the families of the players." We just love the thought of a World Cup winner sitting down to watch League One football...and loving it.