While the Copa Del Rey final win over Alaves at the weekend was a way to send off Luis Enrique, and his managerial stint, 2016/17 will go down as an underwhelming campaign for Barcelona.
Enrique made the announcement that he would be leaving earlier in the season, and Barca would then go on to be knocked out of the Champions League courtesy of a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Max Allegri's well-oiled Juventus, before ultimately losing out to Real Madrid in the La Liga title race.
The 3-1 cup final win at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday, thanks to goals from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Paco Alcacer, meant 'Lucho' ended his three-year reign with a total of nine trophies.
Here's Barcelona's sublime training drill:
But the manner in which they lost La Liga was bitterly disappointing, and reports from Spain say that Enrique believes that two of his big guns, Messi and Neymar, who were both on the scoresheet in his final game, played a key role in his departure.
Image: PA
Diario Gol report the pair spoke to club chiefs and made it clear they felt a managerial change was needed.
That opinion is alleged to have been shared by a decent portion of the rest of the Barca camp, and Enrique is of the view that their season would have gone much smoother had he received the complete support of his squad.
Image: PA
Barcelona, meanwhile, made the announcement on their new boss yesterday.
Getting the highly prestigious position is 53-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who experienced two years as a player at the Camp Nou in 1988.
The striker scored eight goals in 22 appearances before moving on, eventually calling time on his playing career at Real Mallorca in 1997.
After stints as a coach in the La Liga with Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal, among others, as well as stints abroad with Olympiakos, Valverde now succeeds Enrique as Barcelona coach.
He pips the likes of Everton's Ronald Koeman and Spurs' Mauricio Pochettino who were briefly linked with the managerial hot seat.
And Barcelona's decision has received a seal of approval from Gary Neville, who came up against Valverde during his short and unsuccessful stint in charge of Valencia.
The Sky pundit, and Manchester United legend took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the decision to appoint Valverde by recalling his gesture while in charge of Valencia.
What do you think of the appointment from Barcelona?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
(h/t The Mirror)
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Luis Enrique, FC Barcelona
