Spanish playmaker Santi Cazorla has left La Liga side Villarreal to join Qatari club Al Sadd.
Marca report confirmed on Monday that Cazorla stated it was ‘time to step aside’ as he believed that he could no longer continue playing at the level required in the Spanish top flight.
Cazorla will now team up with former Barcelona captain Xavi Hernandez, who is now boss of the Qatari club, and is reportedly familiar with Cazorla’s talents.
The former Arsenal star enjoyed a remarkable campaign for the Yellow Submarine and he was one of the standout players in La Liga, scoring 15 goals across all domestic competitions and showing no drop off in form despite celebrating his 35th birthday last December.
Cazorla previously sat out over 20 months of action after two serious ankle injuries, with his playing days feared to be over.
In August 2018, the former Gunners playmaker made his first appearance in 636 days last month following his last outing in October 2016, after a serious of injury problems.
Cazorla has previously played for seven seasons across two spells at the Yellow Submarine whilst also representing Recreativo de Huelva and Malaga.
We have reached an agreement with Santi Cazorla. He will reach Doha soon to complete the formalities and join the team. Welcome to Al-Sadd, Santi!🖤🤍@19SCazorla @qatarairwaysar @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/9c2hEcRGy7
— AlSadd S.C | نادي السد (@AlsaddSC) July 20, 2020
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The Spaniard has had to undergo eight operations while he previously explained that doctors had told him he would be lucky to walk again.
He has even been involved in the international setup with Spain in recent times due to his fine form but now it appears unlikely he will represent La Roja again due to this move.