Xavi Hernández appointed ambassador of FC Barcelona Foundation

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta and the general director of the FC Barcelona Foundation Dr Marta Segú attended this Wednesday's presentation of first team manager Xavi Hernández as an ambassador of the Foundation at an event held at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper where they were joined by members of the board of patrons of the Foundation, the club's Board of Directors and the Managing Committee, as well as the first team captains and staff. 

The nomination comes in recognition of the coach's human and caring side, who has been at the club for 29 years, growing up at La Masia, playing for the team and then returning as first team coach. 

Xavi has always been ready to support different humanitarian and charity causes, including participation in copious Foundation actions and programmes.

A blaugrana through and through, he is from today even more closely attached to the Foundation, which in many ways reflects the very heart and soul of the club with its long-lasting efforts to promote the values that we hold most dear, namely humility, effort, ambition, respect and teamwork. A better ambassador for those values could not be imagined.

The coach is thus helping to pass his Barça DNA on to those who most need it, as he always has done in the form of hospital visits, meetings with sick children at the Ciutat Esportiva, messages on different awareness campaigns and in one of his most recent endeavours, his charming relationship with Bruno, a young child with a serious disability who has aroused admiration among everyone in the Barça community.

Xavi is thus joining who from now is his fellow ambassador, Àlex Roca, an athlete who has demonstrated such courage and determination in the face of adversity, and who just like Xavi is a fine example of hard work, respect and discretion.

Statement by Xavi Hernández

"It is a highly satisfying honour. We are in a privileged position from which to help the people who most need it. As we should be doing. As Johan Cruyff said, if you have the chance to help someone then you should do just that. I enjoy helping people. You can change the lives of a lot of people, football is a spectacular tool for change and I think the club is in the right place and time to change a lot of people's lives. That is our fortune and our privilege".

Statement by Joan Laporta

"We are proud to have a Barça legend, someone with such personality as Xavi and who is so able to help to accept the role of ambassador of the Foundation. Xavi performs and explains the Barça values. He perfectly understands the meaning of 'More than a Club' and how important it is to defend the colours both on and off the pitch. And he also has that dedication to social causes and implication with all the different actions and programmes that we run through the Foundation, that are all part of the club crest, and also of our soul, which is the Foundation, and that's fantastic".

Statement by Marta Segú

"We know that Xavi is one of ours. He knows us inside-out, the place where the Barça values are taught and now he is part of the Foundation, the soul of Barça. This is the organisation that promotes these values and Xavi is the best person right now to encapsulate this position as ambassador of the Foundation. We feel proud and grateful. I have known him since he was a player and he has always been eager to support the Foundation and its programmes and campaigns, and he has a special awareness when it comes to children with difficulties. Being a Barça ambassador means being a role model for children around the world. Xavi is discrete, very responsible, disciplined and hard-working, a person who likes working in a team and who cares about other people. He is a legend who can help us us to convey our values and to look at people in vulnerable situations in a different way".