SADD TO SEE YOU GO Xavi breaks down in tears as he says goodbye to Al Sadd players before leaving for Barcelona manager job
XAVI is set to take over as Barcelona manager after current club Al Sadd confirmed his exit.
Posted Saturday, November 06, 2021 by Thesun.co.uk
The 41-year-old club legend will return to take over as head coach from Ronald Koeman, who was sacked at the end of October.
Xavi says goodbye to Santi Cazorla (right) and other figures at the club
An emotional tears up after ending his two-year spell with Al Sadd
The former midfielder had to wipe away his tears with his players also emotional by his departure
And it was clearly an emotional decision for Xavi as he broke down in tears saying goodbye to his players.
The Spaniard has spent the last two years with Al Sadd and had much success, winning seven trophies - including the Qatar Stars League last term.
Some reports suggest he offered to help pay his own £4million release clause to speed up the move.
Xavi enjoyed a long and successful playing career winning 25 trophies for Barca, including four Champions Leagues and eight league titles.
He was also Barca's record-appearance holder playing 767 games until Lionel Messi broke it this year.
And his Qatari club decided to not stand in Xavi's way because of the 'critical stage his hometown club is going through'.
Al Sadd said in a statement: "The 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. Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd’s history and we wish him success."
They added: "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."
Xavi also won back-to-back European Championships with Spain in 2008 and 2012, and won Spain's only World Cup to date in 2010.
Last month, Xavi set a new Qatari football domestic record as he guided his Al Sadd team to a 34-game unbeaten run in the league.
And he'll be hoping to carry that over to his beloved Barca, who are struggling in both domestic and European competitions.
Barca find themselves 9th in LaLiga, nine points adrift table toppers Real Sociedad.
And they face a fight to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, battling it out for second spot with Benfica in Group E.
Photos
More»
[PICTURE SPECIAL] Real Madrid 2-1 Bayern Munich
Thursday May 09 2024
Your Say