Miralem Pjanic insists it was his decision to leave Barcelona

Miralem Pjanic claims he chose to leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window and that manager Xavi wanted him to stay at the club.

Pjanic, 32, joined Emirati side Sharjah in September after two years at Camo Nou, having spent the second season on loan at Besiktas in Turkey.

Despite making just 30 appearances in his time at Barça and failing to nail down a spot in the first team, the Bosnian playmaker insists he left on his own terms and could have stayed at the club if he wanted.

Pjanic told BeIN: "Xavi wanted me to stay, it was me that decided to leave.

"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 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."

Pjanic reportedly earned over £100,000 per week at Barcelona and the club were forced to move on several high-earning players in order to fund a summer spending spree that included moves for Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and others.

The Catalan giants controversially sold off portions of their own assets in order to fund their summer transfers, representing a major financial risk if the club does not perform well this season.

Barcelona face off against Real Madrid in El Clasico this Sunday, with the two sides neck and neck at the top of the Spanish league table.