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Episode details

World Service,20 Oct 2017,26 mins

Xavi, Makelele and the Qataris

World Football

Available for over a year

Does Qatar have enough time to find a good enough team for when they host the World Cup in 2022? Many have criticised the Qatari tradition of drafting in naturalised players to fill the national team, but is that criticism fair, and will it continue in the next five years? Also, Claude Makelele explains why France could struggle at next year's World Cup. And the great Spanish midfielder Xavi tells us how he turned down Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to stay at Barcelona. (Photo: Xavi, captain of Al Sadd celebrates winning the 2017 Emir Cup at Khalifa International Stadium. Credit: Neville Hopwood/Getty Images)

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