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Barcelona icon Xavi’s expected return to the Camp Nou as the LaLiga giants’ new manager has now been officially confirmed.

The news we have all been waiting for has finally happened with Al Sadd confirming on Friday morning that Barcelona have paid Xavi’s release clause.

The club legend will now head home and take charge of the Catalan giants following Ronald Koeman’s departure last month.

The appointment of the former midfielder is no surprise and comes after days of talks in Doha with Xavi’s previous team Al Sadd.

Qatari club Al-Sadd – where the former Spain midfielder has been coaching since 2019 – confirmed on Friday that an agreement had been reached between the two clubs for the high-profile homecoming.

Xavi returns to Barcelona as the successor to Ronald Koeman, who was finally sacked last week after a difficult 14 months at the helm and a dismal run of four defeats in six matches across all competitions.

“Xavi informed us a few days ago of his desire to go to Barcelona at this particular time, because of the critical stage his hometown club is going through, and we understand this and decided not to stand in his way,”Al-Sadd CEO Turki Al-Ali said in a statement.

Xavi is one of the most legendary figures in Barcelona history, coming through the club’s vaunted La Masia academy and winning eight LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies, making 767 appearances in total and scoring 85 goals while registering 184 assists.

Xavi is expected to sign a deal that runs until June 2023 and will take charge of the team for the first time when Espanyol visit the Camp Nou in La Liga on November 20.

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Xavi’s appointment is a real lift for the club after another chaotic start to the season which has left the team down in ninth place in the table heading into the weekend.

The team have also struggled in the Champions League but Tuesday’s win over Dynamo Kiev has revived hope they can qualify ahead of the final two games against Benfica and Bayern Munich.