Luis Enrique confirmed on Wednesday evening that he will not continue as manager of Barcelona beyond the end of this season.
Despite winning a treble in 2014-15 and the Spanish League title last season, the 46-year-old has come in for criticism in recent weeks, especially in light of the recent Champions League defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
With Barcelona’s directors set to turn to their attentions to finding a replacement, Pep Guardiola, one of the men that preceded their outgoing manager, paid tribute to his achievements.
Guardiola was at the Etihad as news of Enrique’s departure was announced, watching his Manchester City side see off Huddersfield in an FA Cup replay. After the match, Guardiola praised his former teammate for the job he had done at the club and made it clear that he was disappointed to see him leave.
“As a Barcelona fan, I’m sad that we’ll miss the perfect trainer for Barcelona,” he said. “In his three years they has played unbelievable football.”
Barcelona defeated Sporting Gijon 6-1 earlier in the evening, the first of three home games. They’ll now face Celta Vigo on Saturday before playing the second leg against PSG, already well aware that the 4-0 aggregate score is unlikely to be overturned.
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