Xavi confirms Barcelona departure, will join Qatari side Al Sadd this summer

The writing was on the wall all season long. Aging legs, a significantly diminished role that saw him spend much of the season on the bench, and a shift in club identity from the possession-based side with him as the fulcrum to one built around an otherworldly attacking trio.

It was the right time.

Barcelona icon Xavi, 35, confirmed Thursday what has long been speculated in the Spanish press, announcing that he will indeed leave the only club he's ever known at the end of the season.

The diminutive Spaniard, who joined the Blaugrana's famed La Masia academy when he was 11 years old, added that he will sign a two-year contract with the Qatari side.

"I want to keep playing. I know I can still perform, although it'll be in a lower level league," he said.

"I think the Qatar project is nice, and it's ideal for me. In the future I'd like to come back to Barca."

The midfielder, one of the catalysts for the period of dominance enjoyed by both Barcelona and the Spanish national team, will walk away from the Camp Nou with a number of club records in tow.

Since his debut against Mallorca in 1998, Xavi has gone on to make a club-record 760 appearances with the iconic Catalan side - a spell that has been littered with silverware.

His 150 Champions League matches also put him in a tie with compatriot Iker Casillas for the most all-time - a mark he can reclaim should he feature in the final against Juventus on June 6.

Though his official numbers are modest, 58 goals and 98 assists, it is impossible to deny the gargantuan influence he had on the club - and football as a whole - during his incredible, trophy-laden career.

"Barca will continue to be great without me," Xavi said during Thursday's press conference. "I'm convinced."

And he's right. They will be just fine.

But they'll never be the same.