Xavi remains coy on Barcelona, says he is focused on Al Sadd

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Bengaluru, October 29: Spanish great Xavi Hernandez said he is just focusing on his current job at Qatar Stars League (QSL) club Al Sadd amidst rumours of him taking over as new coach of La Liga giants Barcelona.

Barcelona have been struggling in the post-Lionel Messi era and lost two back-to-back matches in the La Liga including the most anticipated El Clasico fixture.

The 0-1 loss to at Rayo Vallecano which came immediately after the 1-2 loss at home to archrivals Real Madrid in the El Clasico resulted in the sacking of Dutchman Ronald Koeman as coach.

In a trophy-laden career with Barcelona, Xavi has won everything as a player before he left for Al Sadd in 2015.

Starting his Al Sadd career as a player, Xavi obtained the coaching licence and the long-time Barcelona midfielder retired as an active player in 2019.

Since then, the 41-year-old has been in charge of the former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League winners.

Al Sadd beat the Laurent Blanc-coached Al Rayyan in the final of the prestigious Amir's Cup last week at the newly unveiled Al Thumama stadium, sixth venue of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

According to insiders, Barcelona are close to finalising Xavi's long-anticipated return as coach, with the Catalans promoting B team coach Sergi Barjuan to the senior job on a temporary basis.

Xavi has an exit clause in his Al Sadd contract, although Barcelona, despite their financial crunch, are prepared to pay any fee required.

Despite his imminent return to Barcelona, the 2010 World Cup-winner remained coy when asked about his future in the QSL pre-matcmatch press conference.

"I'm currently focused on my work with Al Sadd, and I can't talk about anything else," Xavi told reporters ahead of Al Sadd's QSL tie against Al Ahli.

Having won all the seven matches played so far, Xavi's Al Sadd are currently on top of QSL table with 21 points.

Xavi is also one of the brand ambassadors of Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first time when the quadrennial extravaganza reaches the Middle East/Arab region.

The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18.