Former Barcelona star Xavi Hernandez is set to become the club's new manager following a deal reached with his current side Al Sadd.

"The Al Sadd administration has agreed on Xavi's move to Barcelona after the payment of the release clause stipulated in the contract," the club said in a statement. "We've agreed on cooperation with Barcelona in the future. Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd's history and we wish him success."

The Qatari club, where the 41-year-old had managed since May 2019, initially said they would not allow him to leave in the middle of the season.

Barcelona officials travelled to Qatar earlier this week to enter negotiations with Al Sadd, with reports indicating that the Blaugrana had Xavi at the top of their wish list for their next manager.

Xavi was announced as Al Sadd's manager on May 28, 2019 and led them to last season's league title. They are unbeaten in 36 league games.

Xavi however earlier this week hinted at wanting to return to Spain to coach his former club. Al Sadd said in their statement that the former midfielder had requested them to allow him to leave.

"Xavi informed us a few days ago of his desire to go to Barcelona at this particular time, because of the critical stage his hometown club is going through, and we understand this and decided not to stand in his way," the Qatari club said.

Xavi, once unveiled at Barcelona, will face the challenge of leading a turnaround.

Barcelona are currently in 9th place in the La Liga standings, having won only 4 of their 11 games played so far.