Xavi Hernandez, who embodied the attacking style popularized by Barcelona and the Spain national team, is returning to Camp Nou as the new coach of his struggling boyhood club.
Barcelona announced early on Saturday that Xavi has agreed to a contract through 2024 after the former Spain midfielder was relieved of his contract as coach of Qatari club Al-Saad.
Xavi will replace Ronald Koeman, who was fired last week after a series of defeats for a club that failed to re-sign Lionel Messi. Sergi Barjuan has since coached Barcelona, overseeing draws in the Spanish league and victories in the Champions League. Barjuan will return to coach the reserve team after Saturday’s game at Celta Vigo.
Xavi, 41, left Barcelona in 2015 and has helped the club win 25 titles, including four Champions Leagues and eight Spanish leagues in 17 seasons. He was also instrumental to Spain’s title streak when it won the 2010 World Cup and the European Championships in 2008 and 2012.
He has been at Al-Saad since leaving Barcelona, first as a player and then as a coach.
Earlier on Friday, al-Sad said he was ready to let Xavi go on payment of a buyout clause reportedly worth 5 million euros ($5.7 million). Barcelona made no mention of the clause when it announced the deal with Xavi, saying only that it “came after talks with the owners of the (Qatari) club over the past few days.”
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