Tag: Xavi

  • Al Sadd want Barca identity to replace Xavi

    Al Sadd want Barca identity to replace Xavi

    Al Sadd have plans to replace Xavi with another coach boasting a Barcelona background.

    Barca and Al Sadd are thrashing out compensation terms for Xavi, who has agreed personal terms over a return to the Nou Camp.

    Sport says Al Sadd plan to replace their coach with another Barca identity in order to maintain continuity.

    Javi García Pimienta, Denis Silva, Oscar López and Jordi Roura have all been contact by Al Sadd’s agents.

    García Pimienta was sacked by Barca as B coach at the end of last season.

  • Xavi responds to Barca questions after Al Sadd meeting

    Xavi responds to Barca questions after Al Sadd meeting

    Al Sadd have informed Xavi he can leave for Barcelona so long as his buyout clause is met.

    It’s understood Xavi’s contract carries a €1m release clause should Barca come calling.

    Meanwhile, Marca reports Xavi met with the leaders of the Qatar club on Thursday, intimating his desire to taken the newly vacant job at the Camp Nou, and the meeting went well with the Al-Sadd board making clear they would allow him to leave for a buyout fee.

    The negotiating of that fee isn’t thought to be a problem, although the Qatari club are determined to keep him until after November 3, which would prevent him from taking charge of Los Cules’ Champions League meeting with Dynamo Kiev.

    “I’m focused on my work with Al-Sadd,” Xavi explained in a press conference. “I cannot talk about anything else.”

    From the start of the international break, Xavi would be free to make concrete his agreement with the Catalan giants and officially take charge, and it’s expected that negotiations will be closed in the coming days.

  • My idea is to coach Barca – Xavi

    My idea is to coach Barca – Xavi

    Al Sadd coach Xavi says his ambition to return to Barcelona remains.

    Xavi famously turned down Barca 18 months ago, convinced he wasn’t ready for the job at the time.

    However, the former Blaugrana captain now says: “My idea is to coach Barcelona.

    “I have never hidden it, it is my goal and my dream. I don’t know if it will happen or not, if they will need me or not, but at the moment I am happy to be in Al-Sadd and very proud of it.

    “If an offer comes in, it will be evaluated and then we will try to decide, but at the moment I am very happy here.”

  • Barca president Laporta and board split on Xavi

    Barca president Laporta and board split on Xavi

    Barcelona president Joan Laporta and his board are split on Al Sadd coach Xavi as Ronald Koeman’s successor.

    Sport says Xavi is the preferred option to replace Koeman for many of the Barcelona board, but he’s not Laporta’s first pick.

    The Barça president was keen for Xavi to return to the club as B team coach, like Pep Guardiola did, but it’s not something the club’s former captain will consider.

    For now, as revealed on Wednesday in SPORT, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez is the candidate Laporta is most in favour of.

    Months ago, Laporta made it clear he wasn’t convinced Xavi was ready for the first team: “He needs a bit more experience. That’s what the club needs. It’s the same as we did with Rijkaard, who laid the foundations, and Guardiola, who brought excellence. This situation requires experience.”

  • I rejected Man Utd – Xavi

    I rejected Man Utd – Xavi

    Former Barcelona captain Xavi has admitted turning down Manchester United.

    The midfielder could have swapped Spain for England much earlier in his career. The 41-year-old revealed he was once approached by Manchester United but turned them down because of his love for Barcelona.

    He told The Times: “Manchester United approached me once through Sir Alex Ferguson’s brother, but my answer was very quick.”

    Xavi enjoyed a 17-year playing at Barcelona, making an incredible 767 appearances with 85 goals and 185 assists. He also won 25 trophies including eight LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues.

  • Xavi reveals he rejected Man Utd manager Sir Alex

    Xavi reveals he rejected Man Utd manager Sir Alex

    Barcelona legend Xavi has revealed why he turned down Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

    Xavi established himself as one of the world’s finest midfielders over the course of a 17-year spell at Camp Nou.

    Despite overtures from other clubs, including United, the World Cup winner said he could never leave his boyhood club.

    “Manchester United approached me once through Sir Alex Ferguson’s brother, but my answer was very quick,” Xavi told The Times.

    “I was focused on Barca, my priority was only Barca. I am a fan from the very inside of myself and that’s why was impossible for me to leave.

    “Now I see it differently. Everyone tells me that the Premier League is wonderful, a great league to work in. First of all, for the passion with how they live the game. How they treat and respect you, the atmosphere and the stadiums.

    “So why not? I could see myself [managing] in England, definitely, it’s one of the things I’d like to experience in my career.”

  • Guardiola tells Barca: Forget me – look at Xavi, Busquets

    Guardiola tells Barca: Forget me – look at Xavi, Busquets

    Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says Barcelona should hire an ex-player for their next coach.

    While supportive of Ronald Koeman, Guardiola insists he shouldn’t be considered when it comes to replacing the Dutchman.

    He told TV3: “I hope someone like Xavi, (Sergi) Busquets or (Javier) Mascherano will come through.

    “It’s up to them to decide. If you think I can help Barca I’m happy with life. There must be others who are taking the plunge.

    “There are people who are very capable of coaching Barça.”

  • No reason to rush Barcelona – Xavi

    No reason to rush Barcelona – Xavi

    Al Sadd coach Xavi stands by his decision not to accept an offer to return to Barcelona.

    Xavi has been offered the job twice but, while the Spaniard admits that turning down his boyhood club was difficult, he felt it wasn’t the right moment.

    “Fortunately or unfortunately I have said no to Barcelona twice, due to different circumstances, family, professional, contractual…,” he told La Vanguardia.

    “And of course it was very difficult because I am a Barcelona fan, but it was not the [right] time.”

    “Whatever comes will come, it will be evaluated and we will decide. [Offers] arrived years ago, but it was not the time. Barcelona came and it was not the time. There is no hurry.”

  • Former Barca captain stunned over Messi transfer talk

    Former Barca captain stunned over Messi transfer talk

    Barcelona legend Xavi is baffled that there’s doubt about the future at the club of Lionel Messi.

    The Al Sadd coach has had his say on Messi’s situation as the Barca captain’s contract runs down.

    Xavi said, “We have to see that Leo is happy because with a happy Messi, you have more chances to win titles and that things work.

    “Many times it has given me the feeling that Leo was not happy on the field, he looked sad, and that as a Culé it gave me a lot of pain.

    “We have not taken enough advantage over these years to have the best player in the world with us.

    “That he has not felt happy in the club makes me sad. Things must have been done very badly so that Leo has not felt happy there.”

  • Joshua Kimmich names ex-Barca captain as his idol

    Joshua Kimmich names ex-Barca captain as his idol

    Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich has admitted that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the players he would most like to line up next to at club level, while adding that Barca legend Xavi was his biggest influence while growing up.

    As a Champions League and Club World Cup winner with Bayern, Kimmich has a wealth of experience and can boast playing alongside the current Best FIFA Men’s Player in Robert Lewandowski.

    At just 26 years old, the versatile midfielder still has plenty of years left in his career and admits that sharing a locker room with a multiple Ballon d’Or-winning duo would be a welcome addition to his footballing bucket list.

    Asked by Bild who he would most like to play with, Kimmich said: “Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

    “For me, it’s so impressive, almost unbelievable, how you can maintain this level for over 15 years. I’d like to see what they do every day.”

    “My role model was always Xavi Hernandez from Barcelona,” Kimmich said. “He was never the biggest, but he played with vision, technique and [superb] passing, always bringing others into the game.

    “He impressed me and that’s how I wanted to play. I got to know him during a training camp in Doha and it was a really cool moment!”