Xavi Hernández, the former Barça football star currently playing for Al-Sadd in Qatar, has announced he will retire at the end of the season. The 39-year-old midfielder, from Terrassa in Catalonia, is leaving the pitch to become a coach. He could even return to Barcelona's Camp Nou after he's qualified.
"It's been a privilege to play football until I'm 39 and now I'd like to end the season winning the Emir of Qatar Cup and reaching the next phase of the Asian Champions League. This is my last season as a player, but I'm hoping to see what future I'll have a trainer," he wrote in a letter.
In that letter, the player has already explained what his coaching philosophy will be: "I love when teams take the initiative on the pitch. Attacking football, returning to the essence of what we've all loved since childhood: the football of possession". He says he's inspired by "the style developed over many years under the influence of Johan Cruyff and [Barcelona's youth academy] La Masia, whose greatest exponent is Barça's playing style".
Also coming up, the player himself notes, he has the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which he will be one of the main ambassadors for.
He concludes the letter: "During the next four weeks, I'll lace up my boots to play the last matches of an unforgettable career which has lasted 21 years and taken me around the world".