Real Sociedad midfielder Xabi Prieto will retire after today's clash with Barcelona.

Prieto will hang up his boots definitively – partly because of a niggling groin injury which he has been unable to fully shake off, and partly because he can't bear the thought of ever having to face his one and only club, Real Sociedad, the club he joined as a 12-year-old, as an opponent.

He said: “Right now, I don't really know what I'll do next. Football is my big passion – that's what I enjoy doing most so hopefully, my next job will be related to football in some way. I feel proud and honoured to have defended Real Sociedad's shirt for so many years.

"I know that I am loved by the people [in San Sebastián] and well thought of by my team mates so all in all, I feel very privileged."