Qatari side Al Sadd announced on Friday that they have reached an agreement with Barcelona to free Xavi Hernandez from his current contract at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
However, reports are now suggesting that the Catalans haven’t yet struck an agreement with the Qatari club regarding the 41-year-old’s transfer.
The Spanish giants recently sacked Ronaldo Koeman after he failed to deliver results at Camp Nou.
They wanted Xavi to be their new head coach way before they even sacked the Dutch manager.
Al Sadd confirmed that they had reached an agreement with the Blaugrana and that the Spaniard would return to Barca.
The club statement read: “The administration agreed on the transfer of Xavi to Barcelona after paying the penalty clause stipulated in the contract. We agreed with Barcelona on practical cooperation in the future, Xavi is an important part of the history and we wish him all success in the next stage.”
However, Barcelona are not accepting this version of events presented by the Qatari club, according to RACI (via 90MIN).
It is said that the Catalans haven’t made an official announcement because they have yet to reach an agreement regarding the Spaniard’s release clause, which is thought to be around €5 million.
Personal terms have already been agreed between the 41-year-old and the Blaugrana. And only the release clause issue is to be resolved yet.
Xavi spent the majority of his career at Barcelona where he was hugely successful as a player.
He won eight La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies during his time at the European club.
He made over 500 La Liga appearances for the Catalans, scoring 58 goals in the process (stats from Transfermarkt).
