Sevilla manager Jose Luis Mendilibar has revealed that when he arrived at the club, legendary Sporting Director Monchi may well have been considering his departure.
Mendilibar was drafted into Sevilla late in the season, taking over from Jorge Sampaoli in March in order to rescue them from a relegation battle. Not only did he do that, he won them an historic seventh Europa League title.
Mendilibar had his contract renewed by Monchi before he left for Aston Villa, but it was no surprise to Mendilibar.
“I wasn’t able to enjoy Monchi at all. Ever since I arrived he already looked overwhelmed, he was in a mess. I came back, but the people at the club didn’t see it going well, and neither di Monchi,” he told Diario AS about the prospect of Monchi remaining.
He said that he was much of the same opinion of Sevilla, although he did admit it wasn’t necessarily the worst thing for Los Nervionenses.
“Yes. But from time to time going through bad times can help. Here they have experienced 20 years of glory and there were people who did not know anything else, when there were extreme situations in the previous history of Sevilla. Sometimes it’s even good for people to appreciate what they’ve had.”
Mendilibar has admitted that he wants to see at least 10 exits from the club this summer, passing a tricky job on to new Sporting Director Victor Orta. He was not altogether forthcoming on the former Leeds United man.
“He signed me for Valladolid when they sacked me at Athletic, although it’s true that I hardly had any time with him. I signed, I went on vacation and during that time Víctor came to Sevilla. And while he was at Middlesbrough, he loaned us Kike Garcia to Eibar.”
Monchi left to join Unai Emery in Birmingham after a tough season in Seville. He has brought unparalleled success to the club, but was widely criticised for his work last summer, and their failings last season. Alongside a battle for power within the club, Monchi decided it was time to call it a day at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the second time.
