a href=http://www.goal.com/en/teams/spain/22/spainSpain/a midfielder a href=http://www.goal.com/en/people/spain/1310/xaviXavi/a is seriously considering international retirement in order to prolong his club career with Barcelona, according to media reports.

emDon Balon/em remarks that the 30-year-old continues to suffer from the tendonitis that has plagued him so far this season, and is mulling over the possibility of calling time on his participation for la Furia Roja to allow more recuperation time between matches.

The Blaugrana orchestrator has amassed 97 caps during the most successful decade in Spain’s history, and the fact that he is so close to reaching a century of appearances may have delayed his decision to officially retire.

Xavi was recently excluded from the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Scotland to allow his troublesome injury time to repair, and in his absence the team managed a pair of victories to leave qualification for the finals in Poland and the Ukraine almost a formality.

Recently, Barca coach Pep Guardiola commented that playing two matches within three days was impossible for Xavi, and so his decision may arrive at a time that allows his beloved Blaugrana to bring out the best of him for another few seasons.