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Between 1998 and 2015, Xavi was a Barcelona player
Al Sadd has announced that Xavi, a former Barcelona star, will take over as club manager.
Qatari club previously stated that their 41-year old boss would not be allowed leave.
Xavi, who won 25 titles and played 779 games with Barca, said publicly that he hoped to "go home" as Barca boss.
Al Sadd claims that Barca has paid the release clause in Xavi’s contract.
Al Sadd, a two-time European Championship-winning Spanish international, took the World Cup winner to Barcelona in 2015. He was first a player at the club.
After retiring in 2019, he was appointed head coach and led them to the league title last season. They have won 36 of their league games without losing.
Qatari club tweeted that Xavi was "an important part of Al Sadd’s history" and wished him luck in the future.
The club shared the following tweet: "After the payment of the release clause in the contract, the administration has agreed to Xavi's move from Barcelona." "We have agreed to cooperate with Barcelona in the near future."
Since Ronald Koeman was sacked by Barcelona on 27 October, Xavi is heavily linked to a return back to the Nou Camp, where he spent most of his illustrious career.
Barcelona is currently ninth in La Liga, having won only four of their first 11 games. This leaves them nine points behind leaders Real Sociedad.
This season, the Catalan club has struggled financially and Lionel Messi, Xavi's ex-teammate, was not able to stay due to salary constraints.
Barcelona could not afford to sign any new players in the summer. Eric Garcia, Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero arrived as free transfers, while Luuk de Jong joined on loan from Sevilla.
Joan Laporta, president of Barca, has stated previously that "I have always maintained that one day [Xavi] would be Barca's coach but I don’t know when."
