Barcelona part ways with head coach Quique Setien

In a decision that many fans and critics were expecting, Barcelona have announced that Quique Setien is no longer the manager at the club. The Spaniard replaced Ernesto Valverde in January and signed a two and a half-year deal after the club made the decision to sack Valverde but has endured a tumultuous time in his seven months since. That combined with the historic 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals ensured that Barcelona would finish the season with a trophy for the first time since the 2007/08 season.

Reports have indicated that Ronald Koeman is the favourite to replace the former Real Betis coach at the Camp Nou although Barcelona hasn’t made an announcement as of yet. They did, however, release a statement on their official website confirming Setien’s departure and thanked the 61-year-old for his services. The statement also revealed that the decision was made as a part of a  “wider restructuring of the first team” after discussions between “current technical secretary and the new coach.

“The Board of Directors have agreed that Quique Setién is no longer the first team coach. This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days,” reads the statement on Barcelona’s website.

"Quique Setién came to Barça as coach on 13 January of this year. During his seven months in charge the Cantabiran coached the first team in 25 matches: 19 in the league, three in the Champions League and three in the Copa del Rey. The breakdown of his results was 16 wins, four draws and five defeats.”