Barcelona legend Xavi reminisces after five years since his last La Liga game

Barcelona legend and former midfielder Xavi posted a picture on Instagram earlier today, showing supporters an unforgettable memory five years after his final league game.

Xavi, who retired last summer, spent 17 years in the Barcelona first-team before departing on a free transfer to Qatari side Al Sadd.

The La Masia youth product, who proved his ability as one of the world's best midfielders, made 44 appearances during a memorable final season at Barcelona.

That includes 31 in La Liga, where he scored two goals and created eight assists as they won the Spanish title under Luis Enrique - having embarked on a 14-match unbeaten run.

In total, he made 505 La Liga appearances and after a cameo appearance during their 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on MD37, he captained the side during their 2-2 draw with Deportivo.

Two second-half goals in ten minutes from Lucas Perez and Diogo Salomao cancelled out a Lionel Messi brace to ensure the teams shared the points.

Playing 85 minutes, Xavi received a rousing reception from the Barcelona faithful after being replaced by midfield teammate Andres Iniesta - another La Masia graduate.

Although he did play again, coming on for Iniesta in Berlin during Barcelona's 3-1 Champions League Final win over Juventus, this date marks five years since the Deportivo game.

Xavi made his 151st Champions League appearance – more than any other player in the history of the competition [opta] pic.twitter.com/aLVOkcWNjC

— El Máestro (@ElMaestrofcb) June 7, 2015

Naturally, he has fond memories and posted a throwback on Instagram with five pictures from a memorable evening at the Nou Camp.

He said: "Today marks 5 years since one of the most emotional days of my life. An unforgettable memory, long live Barca!"

You can see the post for yourself, here:

It has already gained over 190,000 likes in three hours, with current Barcelona players and some of his former teammates for both club and country commenting their well wishes.

Carles Puyol, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Juliano Belletti, Gaizka Mendieta, Riqui Puig and Cristian Tello are among those who have either liked or commented on the picture already.

Update means Barcelona to return in early June

This latest update comes as Spain prime minister Pedro Sanchez has confirmed that La Liga will be free to resume from June 8.

During a speech today, he was quoted as saying: "The time has come to resume many daily activities. From June 8, La Liga will return - Spanish football has a huge following."

Spain's top-flight is still likely to resume their 2019-20 season on Friday June 12, as opposed to the start of a working week.

READ: Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong confident his side will be ready in a few weeks

They will be the second top European league to resume after Germany's Bundesliga, and Barcelona hold a two-point gap to closest rivals Real Madrid in a slow-burning title race.

On Friday May 22, Spain recorded 1,787 new COVID-19 cases and a further 688 deaths - taking the death toll up to 28,628 across the nation.