Since 2015, Xavi has been playing for Al Sadd in Qatar. His best moment so far? Winning the lottery in ripped denim shorts.
Xavier Hernández Creus, better known as Xavi, has had a good career. Playing for one of the best international sides of recent years and one of the best domestic sides ever, he has won a World Cup, two European Championships and four Champions League trophies. He has also won the Sheikh Jassim Cup.
Yes, after winning a domestic treble in his final season at Barcelona, Xavi travelled East to join Al Sadd, a Qatari club whose former players include Raúl — another legend of El Clásico — and Iranian superstar Ali Daei.
Xavi might be the only big name at Al Sadd these days, but other notable players in the Qatari Stars League include Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder and 35-year-old former Portsmouth winger Nadir Belhadj. It’s not La Liga, but it’s not Sunday league.
Unfortunately, Al Sadd are yet to win the league under Xavi’s captaincy. And with retirement looming at the end of the season, the former Barcelona legend may ultimately fail to deliver Stars League glory to the club known by locals as ‘Al Zaeem’ — literally ‘the boss’.
Xavi’s time in Qatar, however, can never be considered a failure.
On August 27, 2017, Doha Bank announced that Xavi had won the Al Dana Savings Scheme prize — a kind of private lottery — for the month of June, taking home one million Qatari riyals.
It would be fair to say the announcement surprised many. Some were amused; some cried foul. All thought “yes, that seems quite Qatar”.
To announce the news, Doha Bank posted a photo of the occasion.
The photo shows Xavi, outfitted in ripped denim jeans, looking happy to collect his giant cheque at Doha Bank’s Mall of Qatar branch.
Former Barcelona footballer Xavi announced as Al Dana millionaire winner for June 2017 https://t.co/ogRINhzOXI #DohaBank pic.twitter.com/4F2VKVSuq4
— Doha Bank (@DohaBankQatar) August 27, 2017
But there are imperfections in the scene too: Xavi’s name, for example, is the only text on the oversized document written in Papyrus-like lettering, while the ‘1,000,000’ has been carelessly printed on a diagonal slant.
Xavi’s statement is also a source of genuine intrigue.
It starts innocuously enough: “Winning the QAR 1 million cash prize was an unexpected but welcome surprise.”
Sure, welcome surprises are good. You can relate to how Xavi is feeling.
“I had taken interest in the Al Dana program,” he continues, “after hearing about how Doha Bank encourages their customers to save money, and get a chance to become Millionaires, as well as the opportunity to win other cash prizes.”