Club legend Xavi Hernández is the new coach of FC Barcelona.
Nothing stood in the way of the 41-year-old's move after his previous employer, the Qatari club Al Sadd, announced on Friday that it had agreed to an early termination of the contract.
"Al Sadd agrees with Xavi's move to Barcelona after the amount agreed in the contract with him for an exit has been paid," wrote Al-Sadd CEO Turki Al-Ali on Twitter.
Xavi is an important part of Al Sadd's history and the club wishes him every success in the future.
Xavi was actually still tied as head coach in Doha until 2023. According to Spanish media reports, the amount to be paid was five million euros. The 2010 world champion is now the successor to the slain coach Ronald Koeman. The difficult task of leading the traditional club out of the sporting crisis following the departure of superstar Lionel Messi awaits him. "I really want to go home," said the former midfield star of the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" recently.
Al Sadd's approval was preceded by intensive negotiations by a delegation from FC Barcelona led by Vice President Rafael Yuste in Doha on Thursday.
Xavi had played for Barca between 1998 and 2015 and won the Champions League four times with the club.
With the Spanish national team he was world and European champion.