Xavi ‘on verge of being appointed Barcelona manager

Barcelona have reportedly reached an agreement with Al-Sadd to allow Xavi to return to Camp Nou as the Catalan club’s new head coach.

The 41-year-old has been strongly linked with the managerial position at his former club in recent days, and Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste and director of football Mateu Alemany have recently been in Qatar to discuss the Spaniard.

Al-Sadd CEO Turki Al-Ali revealed on Wednesday that Xavi would not be allowed to leave his role as manager “at this sensitive time of the season”.

However, the former midfielder said that he ‘really wants to go home’ when asked about the situation.

According to Sport, Xavi agreed his exit from Al-Sadd with the club’s president on Friday, with two meetings being held to discuss the Spaniard’s future.

The report claims that Barcelona still need to agree an exit fee with the Qatari outfit and a few minor details, but the deal will soon be announced, with Xavi preparing to head back to Camp Nou.

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Interim manager Sergi Barjuan is preparing to lead the team into Saturday’s La Liga clash with Celta Vigo, which comes after Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League.