Barcelona midfielder Xavi will announce on Thursday he is leaving the club he joined as an 11-year-old to sign a lucrative three-year deal with Qatari side Al Sadd, his agent told Reuters on Wednesday.
Barcelona legend Xavi believes nobody will ever be able to replace his former teammate Lionel Messi with respect to his abilities and achievements. Comparing the Argentine with Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi said that Messi was way above the Portugal's Euro 2016 winner. The 36-year old said, "There will be many good players in the future but no one would come close to Messi's level, when he eventually decides to call it quits."
Barcelona extended their LaLiga lead to eight points thanks to second-half goals by Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha that gave them a 3-0 home win against Sevilla
Neuer sidelined for 'coming weeks' after knee surgery - Bayern
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Barcelona captain Carles Puyol will leave the club at the end of the season following a persistent battle with a knee injury.
Luuk de Jong's first-half header gave Barcelona a 1-0 win at Mallorca
Atletico Madrid have recorded five COVID-19 positives, including manager Diego Simeone
Barcelona were held 1-1 at home by Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League knockout stage playoff
Xavi, who won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and is seeing out his career in Qatar with top-flight club Al Sadd, said 48 teams would not be the right option for 2022, however.
Rayo Vallecano forward Alvaro Garcia netted an early goal to give his side a surprise 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Sunday, moving Real Madrid another step closer to sealing their 35th LaLiga title.
Lionel Messi still wishes to leave Barcelona after meeting new coach Ronald Koeman, according to reports in the Spanish media on Friday, as all four sports newspapers dedicated their front covers to the Argentine's uncertain future.
The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
Take Norma Godinho's quiz to find out just how much you know about sport.
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
Calling his side 'weak', 'inconsistent' and 'very easy to score against', Lionel Messi called for urgent changes
Second-placed Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona, while Juventus registered a routine 2-0 win over struggling Cagliari.
Spain's footballing giants, FC Barcelona won their 23rd La Liga crown after defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Sunday. And after winning, what was their fifth title in seven years, the Barca players let their hair down and celebrated in style at the Vincent Calderon stadium. Rediff.com invites you a peek into their wild celebrations. Have a look...
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as a rejuvenated Barcelona gave a football masterclass to inflict a humiliating 4-0 defeat on rivals Real Madrid on Sunday.
Ferran Torres scored a brace and Ousmane Dembele made two assists as a red-hot Barcelona rolled over Osasuna 4-0 on Sunday to earn their fourth consecutive LaLiga win.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Lionel Messi marked his record 506th appearance for Barcelona in La Liga by scoring a penalty but the Catalans could only draw
Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has said it is his dream to coach his former side
Union Berlin's Paul Jaeckel scored a 76th-minute winner to give his team a 1-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and send them two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Federico Valverde finished off a stunning move in extra time to give Real Madrid a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Barcelona
'Luis Enrique has been very important to us and we're all at ease with him.'
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the final few minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-1 win at Espanyol, while Barcelona breezed past Real Valladolid with a comfortable 4-0 LaLiga victory.
The three Premier League and three La Liga clubs in the last eight avoided each other, with Manchester City up against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool to face Portuguese side Benfica.
'I always said I wanted to play abroad but the only thing that would stop me was if I was winning and successful on home shores. I was lucky I found a great club at Manchester United it would've been almost impossible for me to leave'
But Font believes Messi's love for Barcelona, who he joined aged 13, is so deep that he could lower his salary demands in order to stay.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first three goals for Barcelona in a 4-1 win at Valencia, but Inter Milan suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat by Sassuolo. Images from the football matches played on Sunday.
IMAGES from soccer matches played on Monday.
IMAGES from football matches played across leagues in Europe on Sunday.
Hazard extra-time goal sends 10-man Real Madrid through to Copa del Rey final.
Lionel Messi, 33, has been the team's spiritual leader throughout that time but the catalogue of failures in Europe has made the previously unthinkable scenario that he could leave Barca, where he has spent most his life, seem ever more plausible.
A round-up of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Bengaluru now have two draws in a row and their first clean sheet but languish at second-last with just six points.
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