Barcelona begin “silent” search for Enrique’s replacement

      

Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has said that their search for a new manager has begun, after Luis Enrique confirmed he will not be at the club next season.

Enrique will end his three-year stint with the La Liga side in June, after winning eight trophies so far.

Bartomeu says the search for his replacement will be in “silence”, so they won’t distract the team who are playing in three competitions.

“We will work with discretion, but we will work on it,” he told Barca TV.

“There are important games coming up and we will try to work quietly.”

Bartomeu also praised Luis Enrique for his work in charge of the first team, adding: “We have to accept the manager’s decision and support him.

“In the summer he communicated to Albert Soler and Robert Fernandez that this could be his last year and the other day he told us that he wouldn’t continue and decided this was the ideal moment to reveal his decision.

“Now we have to focus on the next three months, but Luis Enrique will leave in the summer and we’ve had a super manager for these last three seasons.

“It’s a sad situation because he’s a good coach who has given us success. The players are [still] motivated, as we’ve seen. There are three competitions and tomorrow there’s training. We have to keep working until the end of June.”