New York City FC confirmed they pursued Xavi last summer and intend to make another offer again this year.

Xavi said in December he was close to leaving Barcelona for NYCFC before deciding to stay.

David Villa, a former teammate of Xavi on Barcelona and Spain, is NYCFC's biggest star. Frank Lampard is due to join the club in the summer.

"We are very interested in 'franchise' players, like Xavi," said sporting director Claudio Reyna. "The door is not closed. We will see. For sure we will need to bring in a third 'franchise' player in the summer."

Xavi has started 14 of Barca's 30 games in all competitions, but has played in just four of the club's 13 fixtures since a poor display at Real Sociedad in January.