Ernesto Valverde spent a mere two and half seasons as manager of Barcelona, but it was certainly filled with ups and downs along the way.
In speaking to the Spanish-based magazine Libero, Valverde took some time to reflect on his run with Barca and also his departure from the club, although he opted to not point the blame elsewhere on just where it went wrong during the latter run of his tenure.
“I don't know,” Valverde said. “There are many people who tell me that (fault for club’s form) but I don't know what would have happened. It helps me to remember things.
“We were there, there were two leagues, and it was good, but it seems that for people nothing is enough. I was there for two and a half years, in the three years we were first in the Champions League group and with a one-game margin, in the three years we had the last game to spare. But those things, when they are achieved, that's it, but I and the group in general did appreciate it, another thing is the rest of the people but we did appreciate those things because they cost us a lot and now.”
Barca faced multiple dilemmas back in the 2017 summer transfer window, as Luis Enrique elected to leave his role as manager of the club and Neymar completed his blockbuster transfer move to Paris Saint-Germain. Barca club officials hired Valverde to help turn the tide, and he wound up winning four domestic trophies.
Valverde was sacked after Barca’s 2020 Spanish Super Cup semifinal defeat to Atletico Madrid, although he had already faced hefty pressure following the club's Champions League semifinal elimination in the previous season.
In the big picture, Valverde has simply turned the page on his Barca exit.
“I see everything with distance,” Valverde said. “Once you leave a place, you turn the page but to leave a club like Barcelona you need more time to decompress. Besides, I had been training for a long time. I needed time.”
Valverde has not taken another managerial role since being sacked by the Catalan side, although he was linked with Arsenal following Unai Emery’s departure from the club in 2019.
Barca has won a mere one trophy since Valverde's sudden exit, as financial complications and turmoil within the club have seen it drift away from being a perennial top contender in the UEFA Champions League and La Liga competitions.
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