I felt happiest at Athletic Bilbao in every way: Former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde

Former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has snubbed the Blaugrana while naming the club he enjoyed coaching the most. Valverde declared fellow La Liga outfit Athletic Bilbao as his number one pick.

The Spaniard was quoted as saying:

"I felt happiest at Athletic in every way. It would be difficult to find that sense of belonging anywhere else. Everything is in your favor, everything is there for you and you identify with everything. People question their philosophy [of only using players from the region], but they keep doing it and they've reached finals doing so and won a Supercopa de Espana."

Valverde added:

"That team I managed were fantastic. They kept us going for those four years. The personal relationships were tremendous and, as a result, my exit was really difficult. It was harder saying goodbye to the players than doing the press conference. I felt like one with them."

Barcelona only lost one game during Ernesto Valverde's debut LaLiga season in 2017-18.So close to going Invincible. 😳 pic.twitter.com/hM4el0OQhh

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 13, 2020

Ernesto Valverde has a great connection with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, having represented the two sides both as a player and as a manager.

Valverde won the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners' Cup as a Barcelona player. As a manager, he won the La Liga and the Copa Del Rey at the Nou Camp. He also won the Supercopa de España while at the helm at both his former clubs.

However, it shouldn't be a surprise that the Spaniard has picked the Basque outfit as his favorite. His stint at Camp Nou ended on a sour note as he was sacked halfway through the 2019-2020 season.

Barcelona parted ways with Ernesto Valverde in January of 2020.

Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao set for vital clash this weekend

Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao are gearing up for what promises to be an epic clash on La Liga's second matchday of the season. The Basque outfit will welcome their rivals to the San Memes Stadium on Sunday night.

The Catalan giants kicked off the campaign on a positive note with a vital 4-2 victory against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou. Athletic, meanwhile, couldn't break a rigid Elche defense on Monday night and were forced to settle for a goalless draw at the Estadio Martinez Valero.

𝙃𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙇𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏𝙎 | All the goals and top plays from our Week 1 win over Real Sociedad in @LaLigaEN 🎥

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 15, 2021

All eyes will be on Barcelona this season as fans wait to see how they will fare in the absence of their greatest player Lionel Messi. The Argentine finally left Camp Nou this summer as the Blaugrana lacked the financial strength to tie him to a new deal.

The likes of Martin Braithwaite, Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto stepped up in Barcelona's last game to provide answers in front of goal. It remains to be seen if they will be able to do this on a consistent basis.