Al Sharjah midfielder Miralem Pjanic has revisited his departure from Barcelona.

Pjanic admits Barca coach Xavi wanted him to stay.

"Xavi wanted me to stay, it was me that decided to leave," he told beIN. "I was there for the first games, the coach spoke with me a lot, but I wanted to play more. I would have liked to have done better at Barça.

"At the beginning, it was good with (Ronald) Koeman. He told me he was happy that I came to the club. But after it did not go as expected.

"With Koeman, I played now and again, but I expected to play more. I was ready for that, but I never reached the starting lineup really."