Barcelona legend Xavi makes a U-turn, says he won't be coming out of retirement to play for Catalonia vs Venezuela clash

Barcelona and Spanish football legend, Xavi, has revealed he won't be coming out of retirement to feature for Catalonia against Venezuela on Monday as his club, Al Sadd, didn't allow him to feature.

The 39-year-old midfielder had already planned to come out of international retirement for the fixture but Al Sadd prevented him from playing for Catalonia, which represents the autonomous Spanish region. But his former team-mate at Barcelona, Gerard Pique, has come out of international retirement and will play for Catalonia including Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu and Brighton defender Martin Montoya among others.

Xavi wrote on Instagram: 'I regret to announce that finally, I will not be able to be in Montilivi for tomorrow's Catalonia-Venezuela.

'My commitments with my club did not allow it. I hope next time I can be there with you.

'In Qatar, you will have the first of your fans cheering our team.'

Xavi, who played over 100 times for Spain, won the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012, and has also represented Catalonia on 12 occasions since 1998.