Xavi Hernandez, the Barcelona midfielder, has decided to stay with his club and not depart for Al Arabi. Hernandez was already close to signing a deal for the Qatari outfit, but then made up his mind after talking with the new Barcelona boss, Luis Enrique.

His stay with Barcelona is only temporary and will only last until at least June 30 of 2015. Aside from Al Arabi, Hernandez has been engaging in talks with the new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise in New York City. Before that however, he will be participating in Barcelona's first team-training in July 24.

Enrique has assured the veteran player that he still had a role to play in Barcelona, but this was not a guarantee that he would be playing as a starter in every match.

Even so, the club cannot deny how Hernandez has influenced his club in the last five seasons. Hernandez, now age 34, has been with the club ever since he was 11-years-old and has stayed with Barcelona since then.

Over the past few years Hernandez has been an exceptional support player, having completed the most number of passes, more than anyone in the league with 13,628 completed passes. This is 3,173 more than second place's 10,455.

Even with his loyalty to the club, Hernandez' decision to leave Barcelona is fully supported by the team as said by the club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

"He has spent many years in the first team and has earned the right to decide whether or not to leave the club. We will respect his decision. The day he leaves, he will go down in history as the best Barcelona player ever. If the wants to stay with us, we will be delighted, if he wants to go we will help," as reported by John-Paul Tooth on Goal.com.