Messi thanks departing Enrique, as Valverde steps in
Lionel Messi paid homage to outgoing Barcelona boss Luis Enrique on Monday, as the Catalans unveiled Ernesto Valverde as their new coach.
“Wishing you the best of luck in the next stage of your life Luis Enrique,” Messi posted on his official Facebook page along side a picture of the two hugging after Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.
“Thank you for everything in the last few years.”
A brilliant performance from Messi inspired Barca to lift a ninth trophy of Enrique’s three-year reign with a 3-1 win over Alaves on Saturday.
However, the two didn’t always see eye-to-eye as Messi missed an open training session in January 2015 in protest at being left on the bench by Enrique for a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, Barca called a press conference with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu for 1900 local time (1700GMT) on Monday evening and unveiled former Athletic Bilbao coach Valverde as Enrique’s successor.
The 53-year-old Valverde is a former Barca player, helping the club win the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1989) and Copa del Rey (1990) during two years at the Nou Camp under Johan Cruyff.
The majority of his playing career was spent at Athletic Bilbao, where he made 170 appearances, scoring 44 goals, and has also spent the majority of his coaching career with the Basque club.
He has had two spells in sole charge of Athletic – between 2003-05, and then from 2013 until the end of last season – but the bulk of his success came in Greece, where he led Olympiakos to three league titles and two cups.
