Xavi quits Barca to join Qatari side Al Sadd after career stretching over 17 seasons Thursday May 21,2015

 

FC Barcelona midfielder and captain Xavi confirmed on Thursday May 21,2015 he will leave his boyhood club at the end of the season and has agreed to join Qatari side Al Sadd after a glittering career stretching over 17 seasons.

The 35-year-old former Spain international, who signed up with Barca's academy in 1991 aged 11 and has won 23 trophies with the first team, formally announced his departure at a press conference

Al Sadd simultaneously confirmed on their Twitter feed that an agreement had been sealed on a two-year contract with an option for a further year.

"It's a definitive decision, it's not an easy one, it's the right moment to go," an emotional Xavi, Barcelona's club captain and appearance record holder after 764 matches, told

Xavi said Barca had offered to extend his current contract by two years to 2018 but he had decided to move on as he no longer commands an automatic place in the first team.