5 footballers who retired this season

#1 Xavi Hernandez

Xavi is considered as one of the greatest midfielders of all time

Generally considered as one of the greatest midfielders of all time alongside Zidane and Pirlo, Xavi was part of Spain's golden generation that won 2 Euros and a World Cup in a span of 4 years.

Xavi joined La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at age 11, and made his first-team debut against Mallorca in August 1998. In all, he played over 700 matches, a club record, and scored 85 goals. Xavi was the first player in the club's history to play 150 European and Club World Cup matches. Xavi was viewed as being the embodiment of the tiki-taka passing style of play.

With Barcelona, Xavi won eight La Liga titles and four Champions League titles. He has won 31 trophies for Barcelona and Spain, a total only surpassed by Iniesta as the most decorated Spanish player in history. He came third in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year, followed by third place for its successor award, the FIFA Balon d'Or, in 2010 and 2011.

Xavi's vision, pinpoint accurate passing and world-class ball control allowed him to dictate the flow of play while rarely relinquishing possession. His ability to control matches earned him the nickname, "The Puppet Master". His on-field partnership with Iniesta is generally considered as one of the all-time great partnerships in world football.

On 28 May 2019, it was announced that Xavi would take over as manager of Al-Sadd on a two-year contract. Xavi has never hidden his desire to coach Barcelona and with some managerial experience under his belt, we could expect Xavi in the Barcelona dugout in a few years time.