Hleb experienced a miserable spell at the Nou Camp after signing fromArsenal, playing just one season in 2008/09 before heading out on loan.
Still only 31,
Hleb clearly has plenty left to offer somebody, but his tale serves as a glib reminder to anyone that it is easy to forget which side your bread is buttered on.
Hleb, 30, will be back at Barcelona next month when his loan spell at German side Wolfsburg ends.
Hleb was cynically tripped by Eidur Gudjohnsen and had to hobble off, forcing Blues to play the remaining 11 minutes with ten men as they had used all their substitutes.
Hleb, 29, has made little impact since a summer loan switch from Barcelona, starting just 11 Premier League games - and has been an expensive flop as City are paying most of his pounds 70,000-a-week wages.
In an ideal world
Hleb would like to return to his former club Arsenal although there have been no moves in this direction.
A bad tackle by James O'Connor forced
Hleb off on a stretcher 26 minutes into his side's 3-0 win.
Fed by
Hleb, Liam Ridgewell sent the ball into the six-yard box for Matt Derbyshire, but with the goal at his mercy, the striker could only prod his effort wide.
The Brum boss signed former Arsenal sar
Hleb on loan from Barcelona last week to add more creativity to his team.
And
Hleb revealed it was the greater desire of Birmingham to secure his services that persuaded him to move to St Andrew's.
McLeish admitted
Hleb's arrival from Barcelona on a season's loan was a major coup for Blues.
But
Hleb, who moved from the Emirates to the Nou Camp in 2008, believes Fabregas will find life every bit as tough with Barcelona as he had.