November 05, (THEWILL) – Al Sadd have declared that Xavi has left the club to take over as Barcelona’s head coach following the dismissal of Ronald Koeman by the Catalan club.
As THEWILL reported, after Barça’s humiliating 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano last month, Koeman was fired, leaving the club in ninth place in La Liga, six points behind current leaders Real Madrid.
Sergi Barjuan was therefore named interim head coach, and in his two games in charge, he managed a draw against Alaves and a win over Dynamo Kyiv.
Joan Laporta, the club’s president, has been working hard to persuade Xavi to return to the club, as far back as in September, and the iconic ex-Barca midfielder is poised to be confirmed as their next manager soon.
Barcelona dispatched a delegation of officials to Qatar to negotiate his release, and the talks were successful, according to Al Sadd, who confirmed the news on Friday morning.
The official statement read: “The administration agreed on the transfer of Xavi to Barcelona after paying the penalty clause stipulated in the contract. We agreed with Barcelona on practical cooperation in the future, Xavi is an important part of the history and we wish him all success in the next stage.”
Xavi left Barcelona in 2015 and began guiding Al Sadd four years later. With Xavi, Al Sadd maintained their supremacy in Qatar, winning the QNB Stars League and numerous local cups in the 2020/21 season.
He will almost certainly be too late to take charge of Barcelona’s next match, which is on Saturday afternoon against Celta Vigo. As a result, Barjuan is expected to take charge of a second La Liga match.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
