You have been with Al-Sadd since 2015 as a player and then a coach. How do you evaluate this period?

Well, yes, I have been here since 2015, and it means six years plus these two, three months. In my opinion, it was the best period in my life. When I came here, I found a big family, the Al-Sadd family. And since the beginning it was a love story with the players, with the management, with a club and with the fans. It was an amazing privilege to be a player of Al-Sadd, and then Al-Sadd gave me the opportunity to take over as the coach of the team. I can say that it’s the best period in my life, especially, also in terms of the family life here. It was perfect, with my wife, and also my kids who were born here. And then in football terms, it has been a huge privilege to coach Al-Sadd.  So after six years, I’m very sad, of course, to leave the country, to leave Al-Sadd as a club. Because I leave many feelings here, especially personally for me and my family. It was an amazing, amazing moment. And then this is a love story forever. I will love Al-Sadd forever, I will love Qatar forever. So this is the evaluation of these six years; I enjoyed it a lot. I grew a lot, I was growing with the players. As a player, I enjoyed a lot and then I started as a coach. I grew really, really fast as a coach here. It was a great experience. So now, Barcelona came to me and it’s my dream to go there. And I just can say, thank you so much to Al-Sadd. Thank you to the supporters, the players, the management: it was a big privilege to be here.  ... 

Turki Al-Ali, CEO of Al Sadd SC, confirmed that the club’s management has agreed to the transfer of head coach Xavi Hernandez to Barcelona, after the payment of the release clause stipulated in the contract.

Speaking to the club’s website, Turki said: “Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd’s history, and we wish him success in the next stage of his career.” ... 

Tarek Salman: We played for the win, we promise our fans that we’ll be better soon

Al-Sadd defender Tarek Salman said that his side played a great match against Al Duhail, after they managed to get a valuable point in a 3-3 draw in the ninth round of the QNB Stars League.

In his statement after the match, Tarek Salman said: “Most of the goals of the game came from set-pieces. The match was intense and exciting, and we were able to maintain the top spot in the league after getting a point from this game.” ... 

Al-Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez said that his team deserved more than a draw, after the 3-3 stalemate with Al Duhail in their QNB Stars League Round 9 match on Wednesday.

Speaking after the match, Xavi said: “We deserved more. Al Duhail played with ten players, and we conceded goals from set pieces – we shoud have dealt with them correctly.” ... 

Al-Sadd settled for a point after drawing 3-3 with Al-Duhail in the QNB Stars League Round 9 game which was played on Wednesday at the Thani bin Jassim Stadium.

Baghdad Bounedjah opened the scoring for Al-Sadd (4′), before Michael Olunga equalised (26′). An own goal from Pedro (31′) gave Al-Duhail a 2-1 lead and that’s how the score stood at halftime. The Wolves came back strongly in the second half and turned the tables with two quick goals from Khoukhi Boualem (73′) and substitute Rodrigo Tabata (74′). Olunga then got his second goal of the game in the 89th minute to snatch a draw. ... 

Turki Al-Ali, CEO of the club, welcomed the visit of the administrative delegation from the Spanish club Barcelona, ​​adding that Al-Sadd appreciates and respects this.

He added: “The club’s position is clear from the beginning – we are committed to keeping our coach Xavi with us and we cannot have him leave at this sensitive time of the season.” ... 

Al-Sadd defender Pedro Miguel spoke of his side’s desire to get three points in the upcoming QNB Stars League Round 9 clash with Al-Duhail.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Pedro said: “We have a difficult match coming up against Al-Duhail, because it is a good team with good players.” ... 

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez described the upcoming QNB Stars League Round 9 clash against Al-Duhail as a “really tough game” that his side need to win to extend their lead at the top.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “In my opinion, the games between Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail are the best in the country right now. Currently we are the two best teams in the competiton, and our team is at the top of the table with a three-point lead over them.” ... 

Al-Sadd captain Hassan Al-Haydos said that his side succeeded in achieving a great victory over Al-Ahli in the QNB Stars League Round 8 game on Saturday.

Speaking after the 4-1 victory, Al-Haydos said: “Al-Ahli was organised during the match, and the most important thing for us in the current period is to keep winning.” ... 

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke of the difficulty of his side’s QNB Stars League Round 8 game against Al-Ahli, which ended in a 4-1 win for the Wolves.

Speaking after the game, Xavi said: “It was a tough game, and we got an important win. We took a 2-0 lead and then our performance went down, before Al-Ahli managed to score their goal from the penalty.” ...