Ahead of his side's second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash against Eintracht Frankfurt, Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez seemingly could not help but have a slight dig at rivals Real Madrid.
The former Barca midfielder will be looking to extend his side's unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 games when they face the German outfit on Thursday night.
Ahead of the match, a member of the media asked the Spaniard what he thought of Real's UEFA Champions League tussle against Chelsea on Tuesday, when Los Blancos went through but only after being 3-0 down before goals from Rodrygo and Karim Benzema sealed their progression to the competition's semi-finals.
The 42-year-old responded by suggesting that playing badly is not a luxury his team can enjoy as they have to adhere to the principles set by a legend of their institution.
"We're driven by Barcelona's history, not by Real Madrid's," Xavi said at a pre-game press conference, according to Marca.
"Our history was set over the last 40 years, when Johan Cruyff came here.
"He set a standard to win by playing well, if we're not doing that then we aren't happy, that's how we Catalans are.
"I don't know what it's like in Madrid, I haven't lived there and don't know their idiosyncrasies.
"This is Barca. We have the obligation to win and play well. It's not worth it for us to win 1-0 and in the 90th minute. We are Barca.
"It's about being excellent in everything we do. There is no comparison. Barca is the most difficult and demanding club.
"We have an obligation to win by playing well. This is the difficult thing in football. That is why this is the most difficult club in the world."
With the Catalan giants have experienced a dramatic upturn in fortunes since the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner was named their manager in November last year, Xavi added that his team need to prove their winning mentality is back by lifting the Europa League trophy.
"The winning mentality is in footballers. Perhaps it had been a bit asleep, but at Barca you have to show it day by day. Because every game is an exam," he continued.
"We have to get excited and we have to get excited about winning the Europa League, which is the only title the club doesn't have."
