Luis Enrique
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique ended speculation over his future on Wednesday by confirming he will leave the Catalan giants at the end of the season.
“I will not be the coach of Barcelona next season,” Enrique said after Barca’s 6-1 thrashing of Sporting Gijon in La Liga.
“It is a difficult, measured and well thought out decision and I think I have to be loyal to what I think.”
Enrique’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
The former Barcelona captain has won eight trophies in his three seasons in charge, including a treble in his first campaign and a La Liga and Copa del Rey double last season.
However, his future was placed in serious doubt after Barca’s 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie two weeks ago.
“There are three exciting months ahead,” Enrique added.
“We are in a difficult situation, especially in one competition, but with the help of everyone and if the stars align we can turn that game around.
“I will give my full dedication in these three months.”
Like his friend and former teammate Pep Guardiola, who stepped down after four glorious years in charge of Barca in 2012, Enrique highlighted the pressures of the top at the Camp Nou as his reason to step down.
“The reason is the way in which I live this profession. It means very few hours of rest.”
However, midfielder Ivan Rakitic said Enrique’s decision left the Barca players “open-mouthed”.
“The coach came into the dressing room and told us before the press conference,” said Rakitic.
“We were all left a bit open-mouthed. We didn’t know he was going to announce it today.
“He has all the support of the dressing room. We will do everything we can to do our best in the months to come.”
Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli is the early favourite to take charge next season after leading the Andalusians to an unlikely La Liga title challenge and into the Champions League last 16 in his first season in Spain.
Athletic Bilbao coach and former Barca player Ernesto Valverde is also a leading candidate.
Victory over Sporting took Barca two points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, but Real have two games in hand.
Unless Barca stage an unlikely comeback against PSG on March 8, Enrique’s final game in charge will be against Alaves in the Copa del Rey final on May 27.
Fixtures
Today: Real Betis v Real Sociedad (Estadio Benito Villamarín 21:45)
Tomorrow: Leganés v Granada (Estadio Municipal de Butarque 14:00), Eibar v Real Madrid Estadio Municipal de Ipurúa 17:15), Villarreal v Espanyol (Camp El Madrigal 19:30), Barcelona v Celta de Vigo (Camp Nou 21:45).
Sunday: Sporting Gijón v Deportivo La Coruña (Estadio Municipal El Molinón 13:00), Atlético Madrid v Valencia (Estadio Vicente Calderón 17:15), Las Palmas v Osasuna (Estadio de Gran Canaria 19:30), Athletic Club v Málaga (San Mamés Barria 21:45).
Monday: Deportivo Alavés v Sevilla (Estadio de Mendizorroza 21:45).
Spanish Table
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Barcelona 25 17 6 2 71 21 50 57
Real Madrid 24 17 5 2 63 25 38 56
Sevilla 24 16 4 4 48 29 19 52
Atlético Madrid 24 13 6 5 44 21 23 45
Real Sociedad 25 14 3 8 39 34 5 45
Villarreal 25 11 9 5 36 19 17 42
Eibar 25 11 6 8 41 33 8 39
Athletic Club 24 11 5 8 31 29 2 38
Espanyol 25 9 9 7 35 33 2 36
Celta de Vigo 24 10 5 9 39 39 0 35
Deportivo Alavés 25 8 9 8 25 31 -6 33
Las Palmas 25 7 8 10 35 39 -4 29
Valencia 25 8 5 12 35 43 -8 29
Real Betis 24 7 6 11 25 38 -13 27
Málaga 25 6 8 11 32 42 -10 26
Leganés 25 5 6 14 20 40 -20 21
Deportivo La Coruña 23 4 7 12 26 39 -13 19
Granada 25 4 7 14 24 53 -29 19
Sporting Gijón 25 4 5 16 27 54 -27 17
Osasuna 25 1 7 17 25 59 -34 10
— AFP.