Xavi to leave Barcelona
Posted Thursday, May 21, 2015 by Foxsports.com
Barcelona midfielder Xavi will join Qatari side Al Sadd in the summer after 17 years with the Spanish champions.
Xavi, 35, announced in a press conference on Thursday that he had been offered a new contract at Barcelona, but admitted it was time to leave the club he had been with since his youth.
His final league game for the La Liga champions will be against Deportivo on Saturday, with the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao and Champions League final against Juventus to come.
"It's a definitive decision, it's not an easy one, it's the right moment to go," Xavi, Barcelona's appearance record holder, told reporters.
"I still feel useful here but a change of scene is necessary, my head tells me so but not my heart," he said, adding that his aim was to return to Barca after completing his coaching qualifications.
Xavi signed up with Barca's academy in 1991 at the age of 11 and has won 23 trophies during 17 seasons in the first team, as well as picking up 133 caps for Spain.
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