Xavi: "I've never heard of any doping cases in football"

Xavi Hernández has flatly rejected that doping exists in football, in an interview with the FIFA.com website. "I've never heard of it. I've been a professional for 15 years and I've never heard of it at Barcelona, in the national team or anywhere else," he assured.

In recent years, FIFA has begun to impose controls not just on urine, but also on blood to put together a biological passport on players. When questioned about it, Xavi expressed his full support for the measure.

"I think these tests are a good thing. It's a shame, but the issue of doping is very prevalent – not in football but in sport in general – and as far as I'm concerned, any types of prevention or control are good. People have to be healthy, sport has to be healthy and it's a good thing that these kinds of controls exist," he stated.