Qatari professional soccer club Al Sadd announced Friday that Manager Xavi Hernández will be leaving to take the same position at slumping La Liga titan Barcelona, the club for which Xavi starred for 17 years.
Adrift in its first season without Lionel Messi in nearly two decades, Barcelona fired Ronald Koeman as manager Oct. 27 after a 1-0 loss at Rayo Vallecano, a club that was promoted to Spain’s top tier only this year. The 26-time La Liga champion and five-time Champions League winner sits ninth in the Spanish league standings, with only four wins in its first 11 matches.