Now is not the time to worry about Xavi. There is work to do
Xavi has signed for Qatari side Al Sadd. Or he hasn't, but is going to. Probably. Noise coming from the Arab state suggests the deal's tied up, but in Catalonia we're hearing it's just a verbal agreement and pen hasn't touched paper. Regardless, what seems nearly certain is that Xavi will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. Nearly certain, rather than absolutely certain, because of what happened last season, when he had one and nine-tenths-of-the-other foot out of the door but changed his mind at the last minute.
After nearly two decades playing for Barcelona's first team, Xavi leaving should be an earthquake, but the scientists saw this one coming a mile off. The most important thing for the club right now, rather than crying over the stream of photos emerging on the instagram accounts of Al Sadd officials, is staying focused. One Blaugrana star knows first-hand what happens when a team is distracted by this sort of event -- Neymar's World Cup injury and the subsequent sob-fest preceded Brazil's humiliation by Germany in the semi-final.
There will be a time for a tearful farewell to a player who has defined what Barcelona mean in the modern era. The perfect setting is the Copa del Rey final, now that it has been confirmed that it will be held at the Camp Nou. Barcelona v Athletic Club for a trophy, what a way to bow out, on your home turf. Of course, there may be one game beyond that for Xavi to play, in Berlin.
However, if Barcelona reach the Champions League final it will be because of the magic of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. There is no shame for Xavi in those players being the vital organs of the team, but the fact they are is the reason he is leaving. Luis Enrique's Barcelona play in a different way to the team in which Xavi earned recognition from the world as the best midfielder out there. Now Barcelona need more players like Ivan Rakitic, and transfer target Koke, in the engine room. Players who are willing to work, as well as think. Xavi has bet his chips time and again on the latter option, and at 35 his time has come.
A man utterly in love with football, he wants to keep playing, so moving to Qatar to play in a lesser league while earning his coaching stripes seems like a good idea. The €10million a season helps too, of course.
But enough. Now is not the time to reminisce over a true Barcelona legend, because there are still several games to play, and games in which Xavi can still have an impact. There will be an entire summer in which to look back at the way he dominated Spanish football, and helped Spain to do the same to world football. Next stop, Balaidos, and perhaps Xavi will have an eighth La Liga trophy as a parting gift.
