Casado pleased with his development.

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Marc Casado is still grateful to Xavi Hernandez despite his limited playing time.

Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado, 21, has admitted his break into the first team has taken longer than he expected but is pleased with his progress, Ufabet Sport reported on Friday.

Casado was one of the most highly-rated youngsters at La Masia, but he has yet to make the step up to the first-team under Xavi Hernandez before the 21-year-old midfielder became part of Hansi Flick’s project. Especially after the injury to Marc Bernal. Although his introduction to Barcelona came later than expected. It has given him the experience to handle tougher challenges on the pitch.

‘I had a bit longer journey but I think this helped me get here and gave me the experience to know which pitches are more complicated,’ Casado said. ‘This helps me to be calmer in La Liga games.’

Before Flick’s arrival, Casado had been called up to the first team 48 times by Xavi. But he only managed to play 63 minutes in total. However, he remains positive about Xavi and is grateful for the first chance to play under his old boss.

‘I didn’t get many chances, but those opportunities made me stronger mentally. Sometimes I saw I could play, but I didn’t get the chance.’

‘Even so, I am still very grateful to Xavi. He was the coach who gave me my first senior game, so I will always be grateful to him.’

Looking ahead, Casado is unfazed even as Frenkie de Jong, Daniel Olmo and Firmin Lopez return to the pitch to compete for a place in midfield.

‘We will now bring back a lot of players, Promotion ufabet many of them from midfield. The more players we have, the more competition we will have and that will help us all improve.’