Ex-Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has been appointed the head coach for Qatari champions Al-Sadd for whom the Spaniard has been playing since 2015, the club said yesterday.

"Xavi Hernandez will take over as the head coach of Al-Sadd from the beginning of the next season," an official statement said. Al-Sadd, who won Qatar's league title this season for the first time in six years, said the team is set to hold a training camp in Girona, near Barcelona from July 14 to 29.

The first game for Al-Sadd under Xavi will be against compatriots Al-Duhail in the last 16 of the Asian Champions League on August 6. Xavi joined Al-Sadd in 2015 following an illustrious 17-year stint with Barcelona. At the end of last season, he renewed his contract for two years but at the end of this season, he announced his plans to retire from playing to pursue a coaching career.