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Xavier Hernández Creus, commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish professional football manager and former player currently managing La Liga club Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders ever, Xavi was celebrated for his passing, vision, ball control, and positioning.
He joined Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, at age 11 and debuted for the first team against Mallorca in August 1998. Over his career, he played 767 official matches—a club record later surpassed by Lionel Messi—and scored 85 goals. Xavi is the first player in Barcelona's history to participate in 150 combined European and FIFA Club World Cup matches. During his time at Barcelona, he secured eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies. He placed third in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year and repeated this third-place finish in the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he was runner-up to Messi for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. In 2015, Xavi left Barcelona for Al Sadd, where he won four trophies before retiring in 2019. He is among the few players with over 1,000 professional career appearances.
After retiring, Xavi was appointed Al Sadd manager in May 2019 on a two-year deal. Over approximately two and a half years and 97 matches, he led the club to seven trophies, including the Qatar Cup in the Qatar Stars League. In November 2021, Xavi returned to Barcelona as manager, replacing Ronald Koeman with a contract through June 2024. At that time, the club was facing competitive and financial challenges. Despite a tough start, Xavi rejuvenated the team by introducing structure, new strategies, and facilitating key signings to strengthen the squad. When he took over, Barcelona was ninth in La Liga, but he guided them to a second-place finish by the end of the 2021-22 season.
Xavi continued his success in the 2022 summer transfer window by securing high-profile signings such as Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen, and Franck Kessié. In January 2023, Barcelona claimed their first title under Xavi after defeating Real Madrid 3-1 in the Supercopa de España Final. He then led Barcelona to win the 2022-23 La Liga title, amassing 88 points in 33 games, finishing 13 points clear of second-place Atlético Madrid. Xavi is widely regarded as a hero for taking charge during one of Barcelona's most challenging periods and swiftly achieving remarkable managerial success.
