Ex-FC Barcelona head coach and club legend Xavi Hernandez is currently in Doha negotiating the possibility of taking over the Qatar national team manager’s role according to an Al Raya report highlighted by SPORT, which both outlets citing anonymous sources.

The local newspaper says Xavi is in their country because the sports management team of the 2022 World Cup host is unhappy with the work that Tintin Marquez is currently doing, which has pushed them to look for an alternative for the dugout.

Xavi is a highly-respected figure in Qatar thanks to the six years he spent there following his first departure from Barca as a player in 2015.

After winning a treble which contained the Catalans’ last Champions League crown to date, as captain in said year, Xavi continued his career as a player at Al-Sadd before then hanging up his boots and beginning life as a coach.

He won seven titles with Al-Sadd in total, and only left after Barca came knocking for him in late 2021 upon dismissing another Blaugrana midfield icon in Ronald Koeman.

Xavi enjoyed mixed success leading the club of his life’s first team. Though he scooped a La Liga and Spanish Super Cup double in 2022/2023, last season finished trophyless.

President Joan Laporta didn’t seem too concerned by this, and convinced Xavi to honor his contract until June 30, 2025 after Barca were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG and pretty much surrendered its league crown to Real Madrid after losing a Clasico.

Once Xavi publicly discussed Barca’s financial shortcomings and how they affect being able to keep up Los Blancos in a press conference, however, he was swiftly shown the exit door in May and has been unemployed ever since

Xavi vowing to take a sabbatical after almost three draining years in the Camp Nou and Montjuic hotseat has had much to do with that, with the 44-year-old reportedly turning down the Roma job once it became vacant early into the ongoing season.

It now remains to be seen how accurate Al Raya‘s report is, and if Xavi can be coaxed into cutting short his intended break from football.