B

arcelona president

Josep Maria

Bartomeu was clear:

“Xavi will be Barca’s

coach, sooner or

later.”Just not quite

yet, it seems.

OnJuly 5, the formerBlaugrana

playmaker penned a new deal to see

him remain as coach of Qatari club

Al Sadd until the summer of 2021. A

month later, his former club appointed

Ronald Koeman to replace Quique

Setien.

“Happy to be a part of this great

club for another year,” Xavi commented

on Instagram after his new contract

was announced. “We will keep up our

hard work and total dedication to the

club to repay their confidence in us.”

The caveat? As Barcelona-based

newspaperSportreported, the

contract includes a clause that allows

him to leave if his former employers

come calling.

It’s no secret that Xavi, like Koeman,

sees Barcelona as his dream job. The

former midfielder, however, has already

turned it down.

“Yes, I received an offer from

Barcelona when Abidal and Oscar

Grau were here, but I didn’t accept it

because it’s too soon. But let nobody

doubt that it’s my dream in the future

to coach Barca.”

The reasons for Xavi’s rejection

have been debated, with speculation

surrounding a frosty relationship with

Bartomeu – a notion that the coach

himself seemed to allude to in further

comments toSportinJune.

“I want to take footballing decisions

at Barcelona. It’s clear that, after the

elections, the stage would be set.

I’m not ruling anything out.”

Barcelona’s presidential elections

are planned for March 2021, a couple

of months before Xavi’s Al Sadd

contract expires, with businessman

Victor Font the favourite to replace

Bartomeu.

Font and Xavi are fond

acquaintances, and the presidential

hopeful has already spoken of his

desire to instate the club legend

as coach.

A proud Catalan, all-time great

and captain for many years, it’s clear

why he is such a romantic choice for

supporters. With Xavi in charge, there

would be no suggestion of Barca’s

identity being forgotten or ignored –

an accusation that was made against

Setien, Ernesto Valverde and Luis

Enrique.

The appointment of Koeman,

himself a former Barca hero, is unlikely

to be a significant obstacle for Xavi.

Barring an extraordinary turnaround

from the Dutchman, the next president

will make appointing their own head

coach a priority.

Whether Xavi actually is the right

man for the job is another question. It

wasonlyinMay2019thatheretired

from playing, having made117

appearances for Al Sadd in four years,

and helping them to their first Qatar

Stars League title in six years.

Ending his playing career on a

high, he took advantage of manager

Jesualdo Ferreira’s decision to step

down, and replaced him a month after

clinching the title as a player.

It wasn’t long before he lifted the

first trophy of his coaching career. His

side triumphed over Al Duhail in the

Qatar Super Cup in August 2019, in

doing so becoming the first person

to win the competition as a player and

a coach.

He tasted further success in the final

of the Qatar Cup inJanuary, contested

between the previous season’s top

four, while his team lead their group in

the 2020 AFC Champions League –

Champion...

Al Sadd players

celebrate winning

the Qatar Cup

inJanuary

“It’s too soon [to coach Barcelona].

But let nobody doubt that it’s my

dream in the future to coach Barca”

Xavi

Legendary midfielder’s future as Barca coach is a matter of when, not if

Headliners