The rumors were right as Barcelona have confirmed they have sacked Coach Ernesto Valverde after two-and-a-half years in charge of the club.
Valverde led the club to league titles in each of his two full seasons at the helm while also leading the club to the Copa del Rey crown in his first campaign at the helm and the Spanish Supercopa the following year.
In his first season at the club, Barcelona suffered only one league defeat – and after the title had already been won, with a 5-4 loss at Levante coming just days after the club had arranged a friendly match.
A hugely impressive debut campaign domestically also saw the Blaugrana lift the Copa del Rey, dismantling Sevilla 5-0 in the final – but a harrowing Champions League exit to Roma at the quarter-final stage was a low point.
The following league campaign brought just two meaningful league defeats – against Leganes and Real Betis – before the title had been wrapped up, although this time the Catalan giants lost out in the Copa decider, defeated 2-1 by Valencia.
Again though, the season suffered a massive low point with the club exiting the Champions League at the semi-final stage – blowing a 3-0 first leg lead against Liverpool to go down 4-0 in the second.
Somewhat surprisingly, Barcelona’s board reiterated their support of Valverde for this campaign and he has left them top of La Liga, but with just 40 points from 19 matches they are ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference only.
The Blaugrana also topped a tricky Champions League group – including Borussia Dortmund and Inter – but Thursday’s 3-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa proved to be Valverde’s last game at the helm.
It is the first time that Barcelona have sacked a Coach in the middle of a season since Louis Van Gaal in 2003 – when they were 20 points behind Real Sociedad, and eventually finished sixth.
Valverde is now expected to be replaced by former Real Betis boss Quique Setien in the hotseat, with negotiations ongoing.
