Spanish football manager Xavi Hernandez has put off speculations about returning to his former club, FC Barcelona after he renewed his managerial contract with Qatari side, Al-Sadd for the 2020-2021 season, the club announced on Sunday.
The Spanish media had reported that Xavi had been approached by the country’s football giants, FC Barcelona, to replace Ernesto Valverde, before Quique Setien was appointed in January.
Meanwhile reports this week once again linked the 40-year-old with a return to the Camp Nou at the end of the season.
Xavi took charge of the Qatari side in 2019, following his retirement.
The club is currently third in the standings, ahead of the restart of the 2019-2020 season which was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am happy to continue with Al-Sadd, and the team’s goal will always be to compete for all titles.
‘“My complete focus in this current period is to fully equip the players for the upcoming domestic and Asian competitions,” Xavi said in a statement.
Xavi: Happy to renew my contract with #AlSadd, I’m working with the club’s management during the current period on a number of issues, including the renewal of Akram Afif’s contract, and signing foreign players to replace Gabi and Marco Fabianhttps://t.co/y5yUunEkzG pic.twitter.com/oamTseHo9Z
— ? #77 Al Sadd SC | نادي السد (@AlsaddSC) July 5, 2020
Xavi, who made 767 appearances for FC Barcelona and won 25 trophies with the La Liga club, had said last month that he hoped to return to the Camp Nou.
But he had added that this would be when the time was right to start his own project from scratch.
Reuters/NAN
