"I want to thank Xavi for the opportunity and the confidence of being in the first team," Fermin Lopez said after the Sevilla game.
"Xavi made my dream come true. My family and I will always be grateful to him.
"The work is paying off but it was impossible to imagine that things would go so well the first year," the youngster added.
When Xavi picked Fermin for preseason last year, no one saw him scoring 11 goals in 43 games for Barca. The Spaniard has proved he deserves his place in Barca's first team.
Fermin is now likely to be called up by Spain for Euro 2024. It would be the crowing achievement of a stellar season.
"I'm pretty calm about tomorrow's list. We will see what has to happen. Obviously, being on De la Fuente's [Spain] list is my dream," Fermin added.
