6 top midfielders who switched to lesser leagues in the twilight of their careers

#1 Xavi Hernandez (Al Sadd)

After completing a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League for the second time in his career, Xavi Hernandez announced his departure from FC Barcelona to join Qatari club Al Saad SC at the end of the 2014-15 season.

His agent claimed that the deal involved Xavi becoming the Brand Ambassador of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the country. The move would also facilitate him to begin his coaching badges.

Xavi made his debut for Al Sadd against Mesaimeer which resulted in a 4-0 win. In his next match for the club against Umm Salal, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2-2 draw. In the AFC Champions League, the Qatari were knocked out by Emirati side Al Jazira on penalties, with Xavi amongst those failed to convert their spot kicks.

In his first season with the club, Xavi scored thrice guiding Al Sadd to a third-place finish in the Qatar Stars League and thus the club qualified for the next season’s Champions League.

Xavi won his first trophy with Al-Sadd as the club beat El Jaish 2-0 to win the Qatar Emir Cup in April 2017. The Spaniard also added the Qatar Crown Prince Cup and Sheikh Jassim Cup to his collection in 2017 scoring 10 goals in 32 appearances.

In the 2017-18 season, Xavi made 28 appearances scoring 7 goals. In all, the Barcelona legend has scored 20 goals for Al Saad in 90 games.