XAVI HERNANDEZ
He was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI six times from 2008 to 2013, and in the UEFA Team of the Year five times from 2008 to 2012. In 2020, Xavi was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football.[10] He is one of the few players to make over 1,000 professional career appearances.
Xavi joined La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at age 11 and made his first-team debut against Mallorca in August 1998, age 18. For Barcelona, he played 767 official matches, a former club record—now held by Lionel Messi—and scored 85 goals.[11] Xavi is the first player in Barcelona’s history to play 150 European and FIFA Club World Cup matches combined.[12] With Barcelona, Xavi won eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. In 2015, he left Barcelona for Al Sadd, where he won four trophies before retiring in 2019.
With Spain, Xavi won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999, and the Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. He made his senior team debut in 2000 and he was capped 133 times for Spain. Xavi played an integral role in Spain's 2010 FIFA World Cup win, as well as their UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2012 victories. He was named Player of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 2008[13] and was named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament in 2008 and 2012. With two assists in the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, Xavi became the first player to make assists in two separate European finals.[14] After the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Xavi announced his retirement from international football.[15]
Xavi came third place in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year, followed by third place in the FIFA Ballon d'Or, in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he was runner up to Messi for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Xavi was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award in 2012. He was awarded the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award four consecutive times from 2008 to 2011.
After retirement, Xavi transitioned to management. In May 2019, he became manager of Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd, where he won seven trophies in less than three years. In November 2021, Xavi was appointed as manager at his former club Barcelona. He won the 2023 Supercopa de España title and the 2022–23 La Liga title in his first full season as the club's manager.
