Al-Sadd CEO Turki Al-Ali has said that the Qatari outfit are not willing to allow Xavi to stand down from his managerial position "at this sensitive time of the season".
Xavi is Barcelona's number one target to replace Ronald Koeman as head coach, and the Catalan outfit's vice-president Rafa Yuste and director of football Mateu Alemany have been in Doha for talks with Al-Sadd chiefs.
A report claimed that the La Liga giants were confident of announcing the Spaniard's return next week.
However, Al-Ali has said that Al-Sadd are "committed" to keeping hold of the 41-year-old, who has a contract with his club until December 2022.
"We welcome the visit of the administrative delegation from Barcelona, and we appreciate and respect this," Al-Ali said in a statement on Al-Sadd's official Twitter account.
"The club's position is clear from the beginning - we are committed to keeping our coach Xavi with us and we cannot have him leave at this sensitive time of the season."
Sergi Barjuan is currently in charge of the first team on an interim basis and will remain in the role for Saturday's La Liga clash with Celta Vigo regardless of how the situation develops in the coming days.
Matt Law
