Ernesto Valverde’s future at Barcelona is making plenty of headlines after Saturday’s Copa del Rey defeat to Valencia.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu was quick to defend the 55-year-old after the final whistle and said the result “was not his fault.”
Gerard Pique also said the team still want Valverde to continue, while social media was awash with angry supporters calling for the Barcelona boss to be sacked.
There were conflicting reports on Sunday about Valverde and Bartomeu. Sport came out with news that the Barcelona president had called an emergency meeting to deal with the “crisis” that has emerged from defeats to Valencia and Liverpool.
However, Mundo Deportivo responded by saying that Bartomeu had denied there would be a meeting on Tuesday and did not want to rush into a decision.
Gerard Romero also brought news about Valverde. He says the Barca boss was very affected by the Copa del Rey defeat and the club have never seen him so low.
☎️ VALVERDE. Ayer tocó fondo el míster, se le vio muy tocado. Preocupación de la directiva y los jugadores que lo vieron como nunca. Como cuentan muchos compañeros, muchas dudas con su continuidad #Barça #mercato
— Gerard Romero (@gerardromero) May 26, 2019
Unsurprisingly the newspapers have brought more news on Monday.
Sport talk of ‘High Tension’ on their front cover, about how the club faces crucial decisions after their cup exits and pictures of the main protagonists.
Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo have a more interesting line. They report that there are doubts over whether Valverde will continue, despite Bartomeu’s backing, and the club are are not sure he is the right man to oversee the overhaul that is needed.
There have also been reports that senior players Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez held an intense emergency meeting on the team bus after the defeat to Valencia to discuss where this season went wrong.
There’s no escaping the fact that Barcelona have some important decisions to make now the season has ended, and it is crucial they get them right.