Qatari club to present Xavi as new member on Thursday

Qatari football club Al-Sadd on Monday announced that it will present legendary Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez as its new team member coming Thursday.

Xavi just finished his Barcelona career with a historic bang on Saturday by winning the European Champions League and achieving the auspicious treble with his club for the second time in history, and will go on to start a new phase in Qatar, reports Efe.

According to Al-Sadd, Xavi will be presented on Thursday in the conference centre of the Qatari side's home turf, the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

Previously, Spanish legend Raul Gonzalez played for the Qatari team between 2012 and 2014.

Xavi, 35, announced his departure from Barcelona at a press conference last May 21, after 17 seasons, declaring that the time had come to leave the Blaugrana and join Al-Sadd, which signed the Spanish veteran for two seasons with an optional contract extension for a third year.

Xavi played for his national team 133 times and won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 Euro Championships. He announced his international retirement on August 5, 2014 after the year's FIFA World Cup. He scored 12 goals for Spain.