Barcelona could be looking for a new manager this summer as Ernesto Valverde considers his future
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde is thinking of calling time on his tenure at the Catalan club at the end of the current campaign.
Valverde took over in the summer of 2017 and led the Blaugrana to a domestic double of LaLiga and Copa del Rey titles in his first season.
This term, Barca kicked off by winning the Spanish Supercopa in August, while the Catalans are top of LaLiga after 17 rounds of matches and have their sights set on winning the Champions League for the first time since 2015.
Whatever happens between now and June, though, Valverde is unsure whether he will be around for a third season at Camp Nou.
The 54-year-old has looked tired and even haggard at times this season as the stress of the job begins to take its toll.
Valverde signed a two-year deal in 2017 with the option to extend his contract for a third season and Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has already said he hopes the coach will decide to stay for the 2019-20 campaign.
“I have a contract and I have the option of extending it for one more year,” Valverde said in September. “We all know how this works. The seasons are long and we have to see how the team is doing.”
The former Athletic Club coach was unhappy at the departure of sporting director Robert Fernandez earlier this year, while he was also against the sale of Paulinho in the summer and was not consulted in the signing of winger Malcom from Bordeaux.
He is also keen to leave on his terms and is aware that a third season could bring about a decline in his side’s fortunes, which was what happened to his predecessor Luis Enrique.
The Extremadura-born former Barca, Athletic and Espanyol striker may wait until the end of the season before deciding and could even walk away if he leads the Catalans to the Champions League in June.
Earlier in December, Valverde became the 16th coach in Spanish football history to take charge of 400 games in LaLiga.
“That shows I am closer to the end than the beginning,” he said.
