FC Barcelona agree terms with Xavi to coach their ailing team
Club legend Xavi is now coach of the Qatari club Al Sadd and has a release clause of 1 million euros
Barcelona have agreed terms with their former midfield star Xavi Hernandez as new coach, the Sport paper reported on Thursday.
The report came less than 12 hours after Barca said they have parted way with Dutchman Ronald Koeman in the wake of a 1-0 league defeat against Rayo Vallecano, their fourth loss in the last six games.
Club legend Xavi, 41, came through Barca's famed academy and played for the first team 1998-2015, winning 25 titles with them including four Champions Leagues and eight Spanish league titles.
He moved on the Qatari club Al Sadd where he ended his career in 2019 and is now coach on a contract until 2023.
However, he has a 1-million euros (1.16 million dollars) release clause and has said in the past he would like to coach Barca one day.
But Sport said talks with Al Sadd were still needed although the report suggested a final decision could come before the end of the day.
New talent
Barcelona and Xavi have not commented on the issue.
Whoever gets the coaching job faces a daunting task at the struggling giants who have reported debts of more than 1 billion euros and had to let the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann go in the off-season.
New talent like Pedri is arriving but Barca sit only ninth in LaLiga and could face a group stage elimination in the Champions League.