Xabi and Bayer confirmed last week that he would be leaving his coaching position at the end of this season - a year before the expiry of his contract.
Xabi is set to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, with the Italian announcing yesterday that he would be taking the Brazil national team job.
Xabi will initially bring three members of his backroom team at Bayer to Valdebebas:
Sebas Parrilla: He's Xabi's right-hand man and the one who replaces him in the event of a red card or absence. Born in La Plata, he's been with Xabi since his time at Real Madrid.
"They then went together to Real Sociedad B. He started out at Rayo Majadahonda until he arrived at the Casa Blanca. He also attended training camps in Mexico.
Alberto Encinas: The 43-year-old Catalan was already at Bayer Leverkusen when Xabi arrived and serves as the third assistant coach. He was in the Catalan league until joining Barça in 2018, where he even served as Xavi García Pimienta's assistant in the Blaugrana reserve team.
In 2021, he joined Bayer, where he was previously an assistant to Gerardo Seoane, the Spanish-Swiss coach who preceded Xabi.
Ismael Camenforte López: 40 years old, he works as a fitness trainer and/or head of methodology. Very young, but with a lot of experience. He started at Barça B, where he was Domènec Torrent's assistant.
"He then went to New York City and Denmark... until he ended up in Leverkusen in 2021. There he met Xabi, with whom he will join Real Madrid.