Football
ESPN staff 9y

Luis Enrique staying at Barcelona, president Josep Maria Bartomeu says

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says Luis Enrique will stay on next season and angrily rejected a rumour that Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti had been lined up as his successor.

Luis Enrique has already led Barcelona to the Primera Division title this season and they are also in the finals of the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

Despite his success, speculation has persisted that the coach, who signed a two-year deal when he arrived last summer, will depart at the end of the season amid suggestions he has a difficult relationship with his players.

However, Catalan newspaper Sport had reported on Wednesday that, although Luis Enrique had been angry at the way the club's mid-season crisis had been handled, the air has been cleared over a series of recent meetings.

Bartomeu has now told RAC 1 that he hopes Luis Enrique will stay at the Camp Nou for many years to come.

"He has a contract and he will continue," the club president said in quotes translated by AS. "He has done a great job."

Bartomeu said any decision on a contract extension would have to wait because of the impending presidential elections at the club.

"We'll talk about that in the future," he said. "I'd be delighted if Luis Enrique stays here for many years, but there are elections on the horizon."

There had been speculation that Luis Enrique's reportedly poor relationship with Lionel Messi would bring about the coach's exit, but Bartomeu said the pair get along well.

Rating their relationship on a scale of one to 10, he said: "A 10 -- but not just with Messi, with all the players."

Messi was also linked with an exit after making some ambiguous comments on his future earlier this season.

However, the Argentina international has since recovered his best form, and Bartomeu said: "I have said a thousand times he is happy here. He's delighted to be here. There is no doubt he will stay at the club."

He added: "Messi deserves the Ballon d'Or this year, and the next, and the next ... He has grown a lot, in a mature way. He is a complete player. Messi is the best player in history. Other players have been given the Ballon d'Or but Messi deserves all of them."

Bartomeu also addressed a report in Spanish newspaper El Pais that said some of Barca's sporting committee would be keen to hire Ancelotti if, as expected, he leaves the Bernabeu this summer.

Bartomeu said: "We are very angry about the Carlo Ancelotti situation. It's completely false and a lie. These things lead us to believe that they are being said to destabilise Barcelona in the sporting sense."

Former Barcelona player and coach Carles Rexach and ex-AC Milan director Ariedo Braida were appointed in February after the decision to axe sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, and Bartomeu said: "Braida has not drawn up any list of managers. Braida and Rexach are looking at players."

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