Petrescu was recently named boss of the Qatari side and claims that Barcelona legend Xavi has agreed a pre-contract deal with the club.
He told Digisport: “Xavi has signed a pre-contract with Al-Arabi.
“It looks likely that he’ll join but he does have offers from other clubs.
“I have spoken to him personally.
“The agent who brought me to Al-Arabi is in Brazil now but it’s the World Cup and it’s hard to get to him.
“But I’ve been speaking to Xavi on the phone and I asked him if he wanted to play with us and sacrifice for me.
