Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi was renowned for his passing, vision, ball retention, and positioning.
49 Facts About Xavi
2.
Xavi joined La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at age 11, and made his first-team debut against Mallorca in August 1998, age 18.
3.
Xavi is the first player in the club's history to play 150 European and FIFA Club World Cup matches combined.
4.
Xavi came third in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year, followed by third place for its successor award, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, in 2010 and 2011.
5.
Xavi is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,000 professional career appearances.
6.
Xavi played an integral role in Spain's victory at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as their wins at UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2012.
7.
Xavi was named Player of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 2008, and was named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament in 2008 and 2012.
8.
Xavi was awarded the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award four times, all straight between 2008 and 2011.
9.
Xavi was included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI on six occasions: 2008 to 2013, and the UEFA Team of the Year five times: 2008 to 2012.
10.
In 2020 Xavi was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football magazine.
11.
Xavi was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award in 2012, and he won 32 trophies in his career, making him the second-most decorated Spanish player in history, behind former teammate Andres Iniesta.
12.
In November 2021, Xavi was appointed as manager at his former club Barcelona.
13.
Xavi's father, Joaquim, was a former player for Sabadell in the first division.
14.
Xavi was named La Liga Spanish Player of the Year in 2005.
15.
Xavi won La Liga and the Supercopa de Espana again.
16.
Xavi was the highest assisting player in La Liga with 20, and in the Champions League, with 7; he earned 29 assists overall that season.
17.
Xavi's passing is up there with Michel Platini, he creates countless goals with genius through balls while virtually never relinquishing possession.
18.
Barcelona won the Liga title with a record 99 points, and Xavi was acclaimed Barcelona's second-best player in a season-long vote.
19.
On 9 June 2010, Xavi signed a new four-year contract with the club, which could be automatically renewed up to 30 June 2016 based on number of games played.
20.
Xavi was one of the three finalists for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and finished third in the vote behind his Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta.
21.
Xavi narrowly defeated Messi to win the Player of the Year award from World Soccer magazine.
22.
On 2 January 2011, in a league match against Levante, Xavi made his 549th appearance for the club in all competitions, matching the record held by Migueli.
23.
Xavi later became the player with the most appearances for Barcelona of all time.
24.
On 18 December 2012, Barcelona renewed Xavi's contract, extending it until 30 June 2016.
25.
Xavi was named in the FIFA World XI, along with teammates Iniesta, Messi and Dani Alves.
26.
On 16 January 2014, Xavi made his 700th appearance for the first team against Getafe in the Copa del Rey.
27.
In June 2014, it was announced that Xavi would be leaving the club.
28.
On 25 April 2015, Xavi made his 500th La Liga appearance, becoming the eighth player in history to do so.
29.
On 6 June 2015, Xavi came on as a 78th-minute substitute for Andres Iniesta to make his 767th and final appearance for Barcelona during the 2015 Champions League Final, as the club won its fifth European Cup, beating Juventus at Berlin's Olympiastadion.
30.
Xavi's 767 appearances was a club record until surpassed by Lionel Messi in March 2021.
31.
On 2 May 2019, Xavi announced that he would be retiring from professional football at the end of the season.
32.
Xavi played for Spain at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004,2006 World Cup, Euro 2008,2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012,2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.
33.
In 1999 he was part of the Spanish team that won FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, with Xavi scoring two goals in the tournament.
34.
Xavi was dominant in midfield, where his passing and reading of the game was pivotal to Spain's success, as he led his nation to their first silverware since the 1964 European Championship.
35.
Xavi was influential in the whole possession, passing and penetrating kind of game that Spain played.
36.
Xavi was named in Spain's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with Spain eventually winning their first World Cup.
37.
Xavi covered 80.20 kilometres throughout the competitions, averaging approximately 11.5 kilometres per game, more than any other player.
38.
Xavi is the beating heart of this Spanish team, the man dictating the tiki-taka pulse of pass after pass.
39.
On 5 August 2014, following the 2014 World Cup where Spain were eliminated at the group stage, Xavi announced his retirement from international football, having made 133 appearances in a 14-year period.
40.
Xavi is a player who we hold in great esteem both personally and as a player.
41.
Xavi is and always will be a person and a player who is greatly valued by the federation, the coaching staff and by myself.
42.
On 28 May 2019 it was announced that Xavi would take over as manager of Al Sadd on a two-year contract.
43.
Two days later Al Sadd announced Xavi's move to Barcelona after his release clause was paid.
44.
On 6 November 2021, Xavi returned to his former club Barcelona as the new manager replacing Ronald Koeman, on a contract until June 2024.
45.
Xavi is widely considered one of the best midfielders of all time, relying largely on his ability to find and exploit space as a deep-lying playmaker.
46.
Xavi's signature move when in possession involved him performing a 360 degree turn, a feint known as la pelopina, that allowed him to move away from the opposing player, retain possession, and gave him space and time on the ball to think about his next pass.
47.
Xavi has a sponsorship deal with German sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas and has appeared in Adidas commercials alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Robin van Persie.
48.
In November 2014, Xavi appeared in FIFA's "11 against Ebola" campaign with a selection of top football players from around the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Gareth Bale and Didier Drogba.
49.
Since July 2013, Xavi has been married to Nuria Cunillera.