Barcelona President Confirms Quique Setién Has Been Sacked
By Tom Gott
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has bluntly confirmed that manager Quique Setién has been sacked, with official confirmation expected in the coming hours.
The Spaniard endured a challenging end to the season, watching Barcelona hand the La Liga title over to rivals Real Madrid, but Bartomeu came out and publicly insisted that Setién would be given another season to redeem himself.
?ÚLTIMA HORA?
— Tiempo de Juego (@tjcope) August 16, 2020
Bartomeu a @victor_nahe:
?️"Setién está fuera".
El Presidente ha salido de la reunión con Abidal y Planes en las oficinas del club. pic.twitter.com/OCfy0uaxeu
However, that was before the humiliating 8-2 mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich, after which reports emerged suggesting that Setién's days at Camp Nou were numbered.
It looks like Setién's time could be up as Bartomeu simply told COPE that 'Setién is out', but he refused to be drawn on what is next for the club.
His departure is yet to be officially confirmed by Barcelona, but an announcement is now expected in the coming hours to finalise the end of Setién's nightmare run at Camp Nou.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman has recently been described as the frontrunner to replace Setién, with Mauricio Pochettino, Xavi and Massimiliano Allegri also named as potential options for La Blaugrana.
On Koeman, Mundo Deportivo state that he is close to agreeing a two-year contract to take over at the club, and luring him away from the Dutch national team is not expected to cost a fee as a result of a clause in Koeman's contract.
Barcelona have also been rocked by rumours that Lionel Messi is determined to leave the club - a revelation which has been described by some as a tactic to pressure Bartomeu into bringing the 2021 presidential elections forward a year and ending his time at the helm.
Bartomeu was asked whether such a decision could be made, but he urged fans to wait until after the emergency board meeting, which will be held on Monday morning and will involve discussions on how the club can recover from such a damaging few days.
The current president is hardly the most popular figure among fans and players, with many keen to see him walk away in 2021. His transfer strategy has come into question on a number of occasions, with the expensive signings of Ousmane Dembélé, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann all under the microscope.
Xavi has previously hinted that he would only be willing to return to the club after the elections are held, and if Barcelona are determined to land the former midfielder, they may have no choice but to bring Bartomeu's time at the club to an end this summer.