Xavi is set to be confirmed as Barcelona's new head coach after leaving his role with Al Sadd.
The 41-year-old will take over at Camp Nou having spent the past two and a half years in charge of Al Sadd.
Xavi still had two more years to run on his deal, but Barcelona have paid his release clause and reached an agreement with the Qatari side for the club legend to replace Ronald Koeman.
A statement from Al Sadd CEO Turk Al-Ali read: "The Al Sadd administration has agreed on Xavi's move to Barcelona after the payment of the release clause stipulated in the contract.
"We've agreed on cooperation with Barcelona in the future. Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd's history and we wish him success.
"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."
Xavi racked up 767 appearances for Barca during his playing career – a tally only surpassed by Lionel Messi (778) – and won a glut of individual and team honours.
He won LaLiga eight times and the Champions League on four occasions before ending his 24-year association with the Catalan giants in 2015.
After seeing out the final four seasons of his playing career with Al Sadd and adding four more trophies to his collection, Xavi made the transition into coaching in May 2019.
The World Cup winner has enjoyed success in the dugout, too, having guided his side to the top-flight title last season, on top of winning the Qatar Cup and Qatari Super Cup.
Former Spain international Xavi departs with Al Sadd three points clear at the top of the league following Wednesday's 3-3 draw with second-place Al-Duhail.
That proved to be Xavi's final game at the helm, and he now faces a huge job at Barcelona, who are down in ninth place in LaLiga with 11 games of their season played.
Barca lost to Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Koeman's last two games and have since drawn with Deportivo Alaves in the league and beaten Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League under interim boss Sergi Barjuan.
Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann treble seals Champions League qualification
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 LaLiga win at Getafe on Wednesday as Diego Simeone's side sealed Champions League qualification.
The France star opened the scoring in the 27th minute from Rodrigo De Paul's throughball and had his second shortly before half-time, flicking Samuel Lino's pinpoint pass past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
Griezmann completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute with a fine finish under Soria's legs, with Lino claiming his second assist by playing Los Colchoneros' all-time leading scorer into the area.
It was Griezmann's second hat-trick of the season, after he also netted three times in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo last October.
With two games remaining, Simeone's side are now on 73 points in fourth, 11 ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who lost 2-1 against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Griezmann repeats the trick
Griezmann is the only player to score two hat-tricks in LaLiga this season, and the only player to net a treble with all three goals coming on his left foot.
He might need to go even further to put himself in Golden Boot contention, though, with his 16 goals for this term putting him behind Artem Dovbyk (20), Jude Bellingham, Alexander Sorloth (both 19) and Robert Lewandowski (17).
Fernandes looking for strong finish to Man Utd's season
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must "finish the season in the best way" following their 3-2 win over Newcastle United.
The United youngsters played starring roles, with Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund getting all three goals to close the gap to Newcastle in the table.
Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall both netted for the Magpies, with the latter setting up a nervy finish with his stoppage-time effort, but their lack of clinical edge meant United earned all three points.
Erik ten Hag’s side avoided a third consecutive defeat, and what would have been a record-breaking 10th home loss of the season, and Fernandes insists they must find a way to finish positively.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the United captain said: "Obviously the job isn’t finished yet. We still have one game in the Premier League, then the biggest game of the season, the FA Cup final.
"It has been a tough season. The table shows that, and we are all aware of that. The fans have been amazing and behind us all season. We all appreciate what they have been doing for us.
"We want to do better and do differently. They [fans] have been amazing for us, and we had to do something. We have been trying, but results don’t show that. We have been working hard and everyone has been giving their best. It is not enough, and we have to do more.
"We still have two games to go, and we have to finish in the best way.
"It doesn’t exist, a captain's performance, it is a team performance. I am no different from anyone just because I have the armband. I always try my best, and we always do the best we can for the club – nobody hides that we play for a big club, and we have to lift our standards every game."
Despite returning to winning ways, United have now conceded 58 Premier League goals this season, their most across a single campaign in the competition.
Ten Hag was keen to turn the focus away from their struggling defence and onto the attacking players instead.
"Fantastic. Great goals. But it was a team effort how we made the goals. But I'm always happy at young players who are progressing very good and scored some brilliant goals," he told BBC Sport.
"Newcastle have a lot of physical power, and you have to match that, but you also have to play football. We had found the really good balance in this.
"It's always nice to win any game. It's important to win the last game at Old Trafford this season. The fans deserve this because they've had difficult times and always stayed with us.
"We are here together. We wanted to pay the fans back."
JPL finalists Mount Pleasant, Cavalier join teams from T&T, Dom Rep as early qualifiers for Concacaf Caribbean Cup
Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.
This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.
Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.
Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.
The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.
A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
