Barcelona head coach Xavi has admitted that he 'does not know' the exact reason why Takefusa Kubo left the club in the early stages of his career.

The attacker represented the Catalan outfit between 2011 and 2015, and it is alleged that he scored 74 goals in just 30 matches during his first full season at Under-11s level.

However, Barcelona were later found to have violated FIFA's international transfer policy, and he was then deemed ineligible, which led to him returning to Japan with FC Tokyo.

The 22-year-old moved to Real Madrid in 2019, but he failed to make a single first-team appearance for the capital giants before joining Real Sociedad permanently in 2022 after loan spells with Mallorca, Villarreal and Getafe.

Kubo has scored 14 goals and registered 12 assists in 57 appearances for his current side, and a number of clubs, including Manchester United, are said to be keen to sign him.

Last season, Kubo managed nine goals and nine assists in 44 appearances for his Basque side in all competitions, while he has five goals and three assists in 13 outings this term.

A recent report claimed that Real Madrid could re-sign him for as little as €30m (£26m) next summer, while Barcelona are also thought to be closely monitoring his form.

Kubo is set to face his former club on Saturday, and the Catalan outfit's head coach Xavi was asked about him during his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Xavi admitted that he was unsure of the exact reason why the Japan international left, but he hailed his qualities amid claims that a return to Camp Nou could be on the cards.

"I was not at that time at the club. I don't know the exact situation. Kubo has a very high level. I don't know what happened at that time," he told reporters on Friday.

"For me, he is one of the most important players at Real Sociedad. He's in an extraordinary moment and we'll have to stop him. He's a footballer of a very high level."

Kubo has a contract at Real Sociedad until June 2027, but there is believed to be a release clause of just €60m (£52m) inserted into the agreement.

As a result, with Real Madrid still owning 50% of the player's rights, the current La Liga leaders would only need to pay half of his buy-out fee to re-sign him.

Kubo has scored 20 goals and registered 16 assists in 139 appearances in La Liga, representing Mallorca, Getafe, Villarreal and Real Sociedad in Spain's top flight. body check tags ::