Xavi has revealed he is a few months away from completing his coaching qualifications as the Barcelona legend looks to launch his post-playing career in earnest.

He will complete his UEFA Pro license in May, news that will no doubt excite the club’s fans as they dream of a return for their former captain.

The 38-year-old is still playing, at Qatar club Al-Sadd, though he said at the end of last season that he will pursue a coaching career once he retires.

However, Xavi also cautioned patience, after a playing career which saw him dubbed the “new Pep Guardiola”, a tag that would be just as big a burden for his managerial career, given Guardiola’s success as a coach, as it was during his early playing days, though he eventually lived up to it.

“Now I can coach in small countries, but next year, in May, I hope to get the UEFA Pro license to be able to coach any team,” he told TV3.

“As a player, it was the same, people expect things from me prematurely, like when I was said to be the ‘new Guardiola’ and I still don’t see it.

“Now it’s the same, I do not see myself as a fully-formed coach yet. We must be patient.

“I do not like to be a protagonist, but when you play at Barca, you’re the protagonist.

“Now I have more time for everything, before I could not, because since I was 16 I’ve been a professional footballer, and even if you are a minor, you have to take care of yourself and so on. It has been a great tension for many years.”