Xavi has made his position on Dutch players in Saudi Arabia crystal clear. The new Netherlands head coach, unlike his predecessor Ronald Koeman, is not ruling out calling up players from the Saudi Pro League.
During his time in charge, Koeman made his view clear: players active in Saudi Arabia were, in principle, a closed book for the Netherlands. Xavi sees it very differently, as he showed in his first press conference as head coach of the Dutch national team.
"Yes, why not?" Xavi said straight away when asked whether internationals playing in Saudi Arabia can be selected. When it was then put to him that the level and ambition in the Saudi Pro League are much lower, Xavi snapped back. "Do you follow that league?"
"If you do, you know that it is a good league. Is it better than the Eredivisie? We also follow that league with interest. It is also a good league, so perhaps we will select players from Saudi Arabia, from the Eredivisie, Premier League, LaLiga..."
"Yes, I do not care about the leagues, I care about the level of the players. That is the most important thing for me," was his clear view.
For Tijjani Reijnders and Crysencio Summerville, among others, that is excellent news. Both still played an important role for the Netherlands at the last World Cup, before opting for moves to Al Qadsiah and Al Hilal respectively.
His stance could also open the door again for Steven Bergwijn. The Ittihad Club forward was completely overlooked under Koeman, but on Monday evening he underlined his case with a pinpoint hat-trick.