Former Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde rejected the chance to return to his old club Athletic Club Bilbao, report El Mundo Deportivo.
Barcelona news is currently focused on the side’s clash against the Basque club on Wednesday night, which will be in the first game in the dugout for new boss Marcelino Garcia Toral.
An official club statement from Los Leones has confirmed that the experienced Marcelino had been appointed to replace former boss Gaizka Garitano, who was dismissed despite Sunday’s 1-0 win over Elche.
Valverde coached Athletic for four seasons from the summer of 2013 – guiding them to the Spanish Supercopa in 2015 and qualification for the Champions League the previous year – until he took the reins at the Camp Nou to succeed Luis Enrique in 2017.
However, the latest report claims Athletic made a tentative approach to Valverde a few weeks ago – which was rejected, as he was happy with his current situation.
The 56-year-old has been out of work since his Barcelona sacking in January 2020, and is said to be enamoured by cycling at the moment.
