The Spanish midfielder confirmed on Thursday that he would join Qatari side Al Sadd after 17 years at the Nou Camp.
Xavi, who won eight Spanish league titles and three Champions League trophies during his career with the Catalan outfit, signed a three-year-deal with the Arab club and will wear the famous striped shirt for the final time in La Liga this weekend.
But the shirt that he and his Barca team-mates will pull on is no ordinary Barca jersey.
No, in the match against Deportivo La Coruna the Barcelona players will wear special shirts with the words ‘6racies Xavi’ embroidered in between the Nike logo and the club badge.
‘Gracies’ is the Catalan word for ‘thank you’, with the club replacing the ‘g’ with the number 6 in reference to the midfielder’s shirt number.
Xavi’s decision to join Al Sadd, whilst being the worst-kept secret in football, surprised many who thought the World Cup winner could still compete at the highest level.
However, the 35-year-old revealed that he simply had to play football on another continent.
He said: “I told Barca I didn’t want to join a European club. I don’t want to face Barca, I don’t want to play at Camp Nou with another shirt.”
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