MADRID: Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez will leave the Catalan club he has served since boyhood for Qatari side Al Sadd at the end of this season, his father said on Tuesday.
“The moment has come for Xavi to say goodbye,” the 35-year-old midfielder’s father Joaquin Hernandez told radio Cope.
He said the contract with Al Sadd would allow Xavi, presently the team captain, to train as a coach as well as playing.
“He is lucky to have received a really impressive offer that allows him to continue playing football, train as a future coach and also rest a little.”
Xavi is Barcelona’s most decorated player of all time and one of the heroes of Spain’s Euro and World Cup-winning squads.
In March he met with managers of Al Sadd, which announced on social media that he had signed with the club but the Qatari side then said the deal had not yet been sealed.
Xavi will personally announce the move during a press conference on Thursday, Spanish media reported.
His contract with the Spanish league champions runs until next year but the club had already made it clear that it would not stand in the way of his departure.
“Xavi has earned the right to decide his future,” Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said in March when asked about the reports that the iconic playmaker had agreed to a move to Qatar.
The player will be following in the footsteps of Real Madrid legend Raul who played 39 games for Al Sadd, one of Qatar’s top clubs, between 2012 and 2014, before joining the New York Cosmos in October 2014.
Barcelona sealed the league title on Sunday with a 1-0 win away over 2014 champions Atletico Madrid.
Xavi was filmed weeping with joy after that win. It is his eighth title in the league and his 23rd overall with Barcelona, making him the player with most medals in the club’s history.
He still has the chance to end his last season at Barcelona with a treble, as his side will play in the finals of the Spanish cup and Champions League.
Xavi joined Barcelona in 1991 at the age of 11. He has played more than 760 matches for the side — more than any other player.
The transfer will bring the curtain down on a 17-year first-team playing career with Barcelona, during which time Xavi has so far won three Champions League titles and two FIFA Club World Cups in addition to the eight La Liga championships.
He was also an integral part of Spain’s World Cup-winning side in 2010 and their two European Championship triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
Beyond mere figures, he will also be remembered as being a central figure of Barcelona’s revolutionary ‘tiki-taka’ style of football, which relies on possession and passing, and helped the Catalan side to become arguably the dominant team in Europe in the first decade of the century.
His departure follows that of other club heavyweights in recent years such as defender Carles Puyol and goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
Xavi almost left Barcelona at the end of last season after the Catalan side failed to win any silverware but was reportedly convinced by coach Luis Enrique to stay on.
He has spent much of this season relegated to the bench although Enrique has relied on him during decisive matches.
“Xavi at this moment is exhausted, he has been playing for many years, it has been many matches, he also needs peace of mind,” the player´s father told radio Cope.
Xavi’s signing is one of the biggest coups for Qatari domestic football in a country set to host the 2022 World Cup.
Al Sadd competed in the Club World Cup in 2011, finishing third after being knocked out by Barcelona in the semifinals.
Reports suggest that Xavi will sign a three-year contract, with his role to combine coaching as well.
Xavi heading to Qatar after lifetime at Barcelona
Xavi heading to Qatar after lifetime at Barcelona
Stars ready to shine at Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship
- Past winner Dylan Frittelli returns as stellar field descends on Royal Golf Club for third edition of tournament
BAHRAIN: The Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship welcomes a stellar field to Royal Golf Club this week as the third edition of the tournament tees off from Thursday, Jan. 29 to Sunday, Feb. 1.
Held under the patronage of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the $2.75 million DP World Tour event features defending champion Laurie Canter, past winner Dylan Frittelli and major champions Padraig Harrington, Patrick Reed — fresh from his victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic — and Sergio Garcia in a field packed with international talent.
South African Frittelli, who claimed victory when the tournament returned to the DP World Tour in 2024, is relishing the prospect of returning to a venue that holds fond memories.
“I love it,” Frittelli said. “Obviously, I won the tournament two years ago. I’ve got fond memories of the golf course, but I really do enjoy the country as well. I stayed in the city the first year, and then last year I managed to stay on the Arabian Gulf — beautiful ocean, beautiful beach, and wonderful resort.
“I also love the cool aircraft flying over — some military helicopters — I’m an aviation guy, so on the golf course I’m often just staring up at those. It’s a wonderful place and I can’t wait to go back there.”
Jayden Schaper arrives in the Kingdom as the current leader in the Race to Dubai rankings. The 24-year-old South African has enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 season and is eager to continue his momentum on a course he knows well.
“I’ve played there the last two years and it’s a really cool place to be,” Schaper said. “The golf course is just pretty cool. It’s got a lot of character, and the weather conditions are always tougher when you get out there. There’s a lot more slope than what we’re used to, but it’s a good track. The tournament is part of a big few weeks of golf across the Middle East and I’m looking forward to getting back there — Bahrain is definitely a place I’d like to get out and see a bit more of.”
Germany’s Marcel Siem, a six-time DP World Tour winner, is also looking forward to the return to Bahrain — the third of four events in the Middle East as part of the tour’s international swing.
“It’s always a fantastic stretch — the Middle East stretch, Siem said. “It’s easy travelling and having Bahrain the third one in a row, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a great golf course. It’s most of the time quite windy there as well, a bit windier than in Dubai.
“The players’ lounge is great, the facilities are great, the golf course itself is really fun to play. It’s a risk and reward golf course, a little bit, which suits me. Really looking forward to it.”
The field includes Spain’s Nacho Elvira, who won the Dubai Invitational two weeks ago, France’s Julien Guerrier, and rising stars such as 2025 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Martin Couvra and Spain’s Angel Hidalgo. Three Bahraini golfers — Ahmed Al-Zayed, Khalifa Al-Maraisi and Ali Al-Kowari — will also compete after earning their places through the national qualifying pathway, showing the growth of the game in the kingdom.
