Confirmed: Barcelona announce Valverde exit, successor pens deal until 2022

FC Barcelona
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Barcelona have officially announced that they’ve sacked Ernesto Valverde, with Quique Setien being appointed as his successor.

The 55-year-old led the Catalan giants to back-to-back La Liga titles, as well as a Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup during his tenure.

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However, with those highs came the lows of damaging exits from the Champions League over the past two years as they crashed out in bitterly disappointing fashion to Roma and Liverpool after surrendering commanding leads.

Following their defeat in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals last week, it appears as though the Barcelona hierarchy have now decided that it’s time for a change on the bench, with the club confirming that they have sacked Valverde in their tweet below.

Further, they’ve announced that Setien will be his successor in an official club statement, with the 61-year-old earning plenty of praise for the work he did at Real Betis in particular as comparisons were drawn between their style of play and that of Barcelona.

In turn, it would appear to be a sensible decision in terms of it being a potentially good fit for both parties, but time will tell if that leads to positive results and Barcelona staying on track to win more major trophies both domestically and in Europe this season.

The statement adds that Setien has penned a deal until June 2022, and so clearly there is a high level of confidence that he is the right man for the job in the long-term too.

Barca currently sit level on points with rivals Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table after 19 games, while they remain in the hunt for the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

Now though, it will be down to Setien to try and lead them to success, with the book being closed on Valverde’s tenure at the Nou Camp in his third season at the helm.

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