Having been talked out of resigning, Xavi was sacked by Barca towards the end of the campaign.
Abelardo insists Barca coach Hansi Flick is benfiting from the work of Xavi over the two previous seasons.
He told AS: "Yes, Xavi won an unexpected league with a significant difference in points.
"Xavi's work at Barça has been good, no, it's the next best thing. He brought out Lamine, Cubarsí... He has shown that he is a great coach and I'm sure that wherever he goes he will do very well.
"Barca are having a good moment now, but the Champions League forces you to always be in good form. Barça is in the last 16 and a bad game means you can be thrown out of that competition. I don't see it as the favourite to win it. There are others who are more favourites than it. Barça could be the big surprise."