Xavi leaves Al Sadd to join Barcelona as head coach
What's the story
Former Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez is set to join the Spanish club as the new manager. The Spaniard has been released by Al Sadd to take over as the new Barca coach. Recently, Barcelona sacked Ronald Koeman after a string of poor performances. Xavi, who played for Al Sadd after leaving Barca, had taken over as manager in 2019. Here's more.
Statement
Al Sadd issue statement, confirming Xavi's departure
The Qatari club issued a statement, saying that the administration has agreed on Xavi's move. "The Al-Sadd administration has agreed on Xavi's move to Barcelona after the payment of the release clause stipulated in the contract. We've agreed on cooperation with Barcelona in the future". As per Fabrizio Romano, the release clause is around €5 mn.
Xavi
Xavi had expressed his desire to join Barca
Al Sadd chief executive Turki Al-Ali said in a statement: "Xavi informed us a few days ago of his desire to go to Barcelona at this particular time, because of the critical stage his hometown club is going through, and we understand this and decided not to stand in his way."
Club career
Xavi tasted a lot of success as a player
Xavi played 767 matches for Barcelona, scoring 85 goals. He won a total of 25 trophies with the club, including eight La Liga and four Champions League titles. Xavi joined Al Sadd in 2015 and went on to play 117 matches for them, scoring 25 times. He won four trophies with Al Sadd as a player.
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Xavi enjoyed a lot of success as Al Sadd manager
Xavi managed Al Sadd in 91 matches across competitions. He helped the club win 64 matches, besides drawing 16, and losing 17. Xavi enjoyed a win percentage of 65.98. Under his managerial tenure, Al Sadd pocketed seven trophies, including the Qatar Stars League in 2020-21.