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What is the story?
New reports are coming out of Spain, which suggest that Barcelona will stick with Valverde for another season. There were several sources claiming yesterday that the Barcelona manager might be sacked after the Copa del Rey final debacle, but according to the recent ones, Valverde is all set to manage Barcelona for another season.
In case you didn’t know…
Since joining the Catalan giants in the 2017-18 season, Valverde steadied the Barcelona ship with his pragmatic nature of approach. In his first season in the charge at Camp Nou, he completed the domestic double.
However, in this campaign, Valverde did manage to secure the La Liga crown once again for Barcelona, but failed to complete the domestic double as the Catalan giants succumbed to defeat in the final of Copa del Rey against Valencia.
Although, he has done an excellent job in winning two La Liga titles successively, Barcelona’s performance in Europe was his Achilles heel. The way Barca bowed out of the Champions League in the last two seasons has raised many eyebrows in the Catalan capital and several Barcelona fans and football pundits have called for his axing.
However, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has publicly supported Valverde, despite the debacles in both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
Bartomeu said after Barcelona’s Copa del Rey heartbreak.
"This defeat isn't the coach's fault,"
“I want to point out the value of someone who is, in a discrete way, helping our team. I'm talking about Ernesto Valverde, who we trust completely," he added.
The heart of the matter…
According to several sources including RAC1’s Gerard Moreno and Marca, Bartomeu will not dismiss Ernesto Valverde and he will be in the managerial hot seat at Camp Nou for another season.
The reports have also suggested that many of the Barcelona board of directors wanted to sack Valverde, but the constant backing from Bartomeu and senior players, including the likes of Messi, Busquets and Pique, has prevented the axing of the manager.
What’s Next?
Barcelona will head to Japan for pre-season friendlies, where they will face Chelsea first on 23rd of July.
