Quique Setién sacked as Barça coach after Champions League humiliation

Quique Setién has been sacked as the manager of FC Barcelona after last Friday’s historic 8-2 defeat in the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich.

According to a press release by the football club, Setién's removal is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days.

Despite calls to step down from Barça supporters, Josep Maria Bartomeu will remain as FC Barcelona president at least until March 2021, when elections will be held.

"The FC Barcelona Board of Directors, assuming its responsibility for the sporting situation that the club are experiencing, have agreed that the date for the next presidential elections will be the first matchday past March 15, 2021", read the official press release.

Quique Setién took over the reins in January following the sacking of two-time La Liga winner Ernesto Valverde. Setién’s Barça struggled for consistency and fell from the top of the league table to second after the restart of competition.

During his seven months in charge, the Cantabrian coached the first team in 25 matches: 19 in the league, three in the Champions League and three in the Copa del Rey. The breakdown of his results was 16 wins, four draws and five defeats.

Massive task

The new coach will have a massive task on his hands ahead of the new season, which gets underway on September 12, taking over at the Camp Nou during a time of crisis. 

Media reports suggest that the current manager of the Netherlands national team and former Barcelona player Ronald Koeman is Setién's most likely successor.

Indications from local sports media say almost all of the squad is available for sale, as only Messi, ter Stegen, Lenglet, and de Jong are considered ‘untouchable’, as well as youth players such as Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig, who both showed promise in an otherwise terrible, trophyless year for Barcelona.