It is no secret that Xavi was offered the role of Barcelona coach when Josep Maria Bartomeu was president at Camp Nou, but the coach has now explained his reasoning for rejecting the job.
The former Barcelona midfielder had only just begun his journey as a coach with Al Sadd in Qatar, where he has been in charge since retiring as a player in 2019.
“Yes, I feel ready to coach any team in the world,” Xavi said, confidently, before the Emir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan.
“When they offered me it, I’d only been a coach for three months, but now it’s different. I have more experience and I’m learning a lot here.
“I want to tell everyone that I’m very happy in Qatar and my idea is to keep achieving success with this team.”
Xavi on the Clasico
A victory for Real Madrid on Sunday could mean that Los Blancos win a third consecutive Clasico for the first time since 1978, and they are the favourites to do just that.
“I’ve played a lot and it’s always the same, there are no favourites before a Clasico,” Xavi responded to MARCA‘s question.
“But I trust that, obviously, my team wins, which is Barcelona, but a Clasico never has favourites.”