Xavi signs himself and returns to Barcelona

• The chronicle of a signing Barça considers Xavi signed seven hours after Al-Sadd did

• Classification This is how the table that XaVI will have to face in the League.

does not want

to be called Messiah. He says that if he arrives at Barça it is to build a team. To return the "illusion". But of Messiah, nothing. It is worth clarifying before what is to come after the Barça club, at 1.45 am this Saturday morning, could formalize the hiring of the former midfielder as a new coach. Xavi signs a lower paid contract than the one he had with

of Qatar, and which will end on June 30, 2024. It will be presented next Monday.

Xavi assumes the leadership of a poorly structured team, which wanders in the league table, and will have to play the qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League in a limit match against Benfica on 23 November.

Three days before, on 20-N, Xavi will make his debut as a Barça coach in the derby against Espanyol.

Xavi's signing for Barcelona had to be specified by Xavi himself.

refusal

to set foot on Qatari soil - the club's business ties with both Israel and Saudi Arabia required diplomatic prudence - forced the former footballer to carry much of the work.

Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

, little brother of the Emir of Qatar, understood that the delegation sent by the Barça club (vice president

and the director of football,

) was not up to him. He would only negotiate with Xavi, who reminded him of the verbal pact by which he would let him break his contract with Al-Sadd, renewed last May until 2023, to return to Barcelona. The problem with the Qatari royal family was never financial penalties, but diplomacy.

In any case, Al-Sadd, who ventured to announce the agreement shortly before noon on Friday to the confusion of Barcelona, ​​made sure to collect the five million euros of the termination clause.

An amount, yes, that should be lowered including a friendly match or even with commercial agreements in which the coach could also intervene, who also assumes a part of the payment.

Reunion with the 'sacred cows'

Xavi, until a month ago, was not a priority option for the president of Barcelona, ​​Joan Laporta. The president had different reasons: his link in the last electoral campaign with

weighed

; the feeling that he lacks experience ("if he wants to come, let it be to B", commented the leader sarcastically behind the scenes); the president's preference for coaches from the German school like

,

,

,

, all of them unaffordable; or there was even concern, highlighted by some of his advisers, about the reunion with former colleagues (captains

,

,

and

).

Ronald Koeman, acquitted in the summer for lack of alternatives but also in the run-up to the duel at Wanda against Atlético - "I know I should have fired him earlier," confessed the president - ended up out after the team hit bottom in Vallecas.

And it was that night when Laporta was convinced that the only way out could be Xavi: a consensus option for a good part of a fan that was already beginning to observe the president's management with extreme distrust.

Seven titles in Qatar

Xavi Hernández's experience as a coach is summarized in 102 games with Al-Sadd (67 wins, 17 draws and 18 losses), with whom he has won seven titles since taking office in August 2019 after four seasons as a footballer in the same club. Obsessive with tactical approaches that allow dominance from the ball and spaces, the key to the vault of his Al-Sadd has been the open ends. In his drawing, until now a 3-4-3, the interiors have a fundamental task creating superiorities in areas that Xavi draws on the blackboard with squares. The Barça to which he arrives barely has a pure end, a

well attached to the stretcher.

Xavi, yes, has been able to ensure the company of a coaching staff of seven people, all of them from his time as a coach at Al-Sadd. His main assistant and guardian angel will continue to be his brother

, with

as third coach. In addition to a physical trainer (

) and a recuperator (

), up to three analysts are incorporated (

,

and

).

This Saturday Xavi will take a flight to Barcelona.

He returns to the place where he played for 17 seasons and won 25 titles, including eight Leagues and four Champions.

In the Camp Nou offices they are convinced that patience will be the norm from now on, both in the directive itself and in the combative environment.

Although football is not used to being patient.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Ronald Koeman

• Xavi Hernandez

• Joan Laporta

• sports

• FC Barcelona

LaLiga Barcelona equals its worst start of the century

LaLigaThe keys to Xavi's return to Barça: delayed arrival, compressed salary and respect for Qatar

LaLiga SantanderPortazo of Al-Sadd to Barcelona: "Xavi has two years of contract"

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