Xavi will be our next manager: Barcelona President Joan Laporta

Barcelona President Joan Laporta has confirmed that club legend Xavi will be helming the Catalan giants. Xavi had already said farewell to his club in Qatar Al Sadd on Friday to complete the formalities of signing the contract at Camp Nou.

“Xavi will be our manager. He’s set to join Barça as new coach – we’re preparing and signing the contracts”, Laporta confirmed to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

Transfer analyst Fabrizio Romano also tweeted about Xavi’s imminent arrival at Camp Nou and said that the Barcelona legend will be signing a contract with the Catalan giants till the end of the 2024 season.

Earlier in the day, Al Sadd had confirmed an agreement with Barcelona about relieving Xavi from managerial duties so he could join the La Liga club as a replacement for recently sacked Ronald Koeman.

“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,” Al Sadd CEO Turki Al-Ali said in a statement.

“Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd’s history and we wish him success,” the statement added.

Barcelona are currently ninth in La Liga with just four wins and four draws from 11 games. Sergi Barjuan took over as interim manager after Koeman’s dismissal and led the club to a draw against Alaves and the 1-0 win over Dinamo Kyiv that took the Catalans to second place in their Champions League Group E. 

The former Barca full-back is expected to be in charge for Saturday’s encounter against Celta Vigo before Xavi takes over the reins.