Report: PSG to loan Barcelona legend Xavi from Al-Sadd

Paris daily paper Le Parisien claim the big-spending Ligue 1 champions will make an approach to take the 35-year-old on loan for the 2015-16 campaign.

Outgoing Barca skipper Xavi confirmed last week that his lengthy association with the Liga titlists would conclude at the end of the current season, and that he has agreed to head to Qatar with Al Sadd.

The owner of Al Sadd is the brother of PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi, drawing comparisons to the shock deal which saw Frank Lampard return to the Premier League with Manchester City for 2014-15 after signing with upstart MLS franchise (and sister club of City) New York City FC.

In September 2014, Xavi laid the groundwork for a move such as his Qatar transfer when he said: "I told the club that I didn’t want to play for another team in Europe; I didn’t want to play against Barcelona."

However that could change if the reported deal becomes reality.

PSG and Barcelona drew each other in the last-eight of this season's Champions League, with Barca progressing over two legs.

Having seen off Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, the Catalonians meet Juventus in the final in Berlin next weekend.

After the fascinating, confusing, downright peculiar coup that was Frank Lampard ending his Premier League career in the sky blue of Man City rather than the royal blue of Chelsea, it was inevitable that similar 'loophole' deals would be considered by other clubs with considerable clout - especially those looking to avoid problems with FFP.

If this does indeed happen, football purists will be displeased with the latest commercial wrangling of their beloved sport. Xavi himself will be going back on direct quotes he made near the start of this season. There's also a chance PSG fans will be deflated that the club are going for a 35-year-old when they wanted Paul Pogba.

But who knows? Bayern Munich were boosted by the presence of veteran Xabi Alonso this campaign. Assuming Laurent Blanc (or whoever's in charge) conducts a style of football which suits the passing flow of a Xavi, as Pep Guardiola did at Bayern with Alonso in the engine room, such a transfer could end up being a masterstroke.

From now on, we'll just be sure not to bat an eyelid when an ageing top-level player moves to a club outside Europe!

Florian Maussion, Eurosport.fr - "PSG is losing the race for Paul Pogba so Xavi is a solution to bring a big name in the club this summer without worrying about financial fair play. But it would be more a marketing operation than a competitive one, as Beckham in 2013.

"Xavi would not be a first choice for Laurent Blanc in midfield. With Thiago Motta and Verratti, he already has competitive players with the same profile. It's clearly not the same profile than Pogba who has a big athletic impact. For these reasons it's not a perfect solution for PSG. But it's still possible as PSG always wants star players and Xavi is one of them in Europe, even at 35 years old.

"In the Champions League, Xavi could bring his experience of big matches and his vision of Barça's possession game which is an important inspiration for Laurent Blanc. But that's about all he can bring in Paris. He would not be the player who is going to make a huge difference on the pitch and get PSG into the semi-finals single-handedly."