Barcelona legend, Xavi Hernandez, has confirmed that he hopes to retire from professional footballing career at the end of the season and move into coaching.
The 39-year-old has been at Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League since leaving the Spanish giants at the end of their treble-winning 2014/15 campaign.
Xavi initially said he would retire at the end of last season, but postoned the plans and signed a two-year contract extension at the club a year ago.
However, he has again expressed the desire to bring down the curtain on his illustrious career by helping Al Sadd to win the Emir Cup.
“Over the coming four weeks, I will be lacing my boots for the last games of an unforgettable career, which has spanned over 21 years and taken me to every corner of the world,” Xavi said.
“It has been a fantastic end to my playing career here in Qatar. Winning the Qatar Stars League this month was the title that was missing. Since I arrived here we have won everything and only the league was missing, so I’m very happy.
“As a sportsperson, you never get tired of winning. Once you have won a title you always want to win more.”
The mercurian mudfielder won eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues at the Catalan club. He also played a pivotal role in Spain’s 2010 FIFA World Cup triumph, as well as their successes at EURO 2008 and 2012.
He promised that his coaching philosophy will reflect his playing style as a player.
“You will see that my coaching philosophy reflects the style that we were able to develop over many years through the influence of Johan Cruyff, La Masia and the Barcelona way of playing football,” he further said.
“I love to see teams taking the initiative on the pitch, playing attacking football and going back to the essence of what we all love about this game since our childhood days; having possession of the football.”
Xavi added: “I have been privileged to achieve everything that I was able to do over the past two decades.”
Barcelona issued a statement on their website, paying tribute to their former captain, who won a total of 25 trophies with the La Liga giants while playing under the likes of Louis van Gaal, Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.
“Xavi is a living example of FC Barcelona’s emblematic style of play,” it read, under a heading describing Xavi as Barca’s “torchbearer”.
“He arrived at the club in the 1991-92 season to play for Under-12 team and La Masia became the place where he learned the fundamentals of the midfield from the man who would become his friend and mentor, Pep Guardiola, who Xavi would later succeed as the backbone of the Barca midfield for almost two decades,” the club said in the tribute.
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