While Barcelona’s upcoming vacancy in the hotseat has been the subject of plenty of speculation already, there does appear to be a rough shortlist of candidates that have been widely reported as preferences, including Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel, Hansi Flick and Roberto de Zerbi. None are perfect candidates though, and Sporting Director Deco might chance his arm at his dream appointment.
“In an ideal world, Deco’s favorite coach is Luis Enrique,” Sique Rodriguez revealed to Cadena SER.
“The one he likes the most is the Asturian coach, another thing is whether he can be signed or not because he has a contract with PSG. Young coaches like Arteta or Xabi Alonso are well-liked. They like Roberto de Zerbi and his methods are also known. Obviously, we have always talked about the German way: Flick, Tuchel… The economic situation is what it is and it limits as much as it limits, but right now, the coach they like the most is Luis Enrique.”
Ahead of Barcelona’s game, Deco told Movistar+, as carried by Sport, that Xavi’s replcement is being talked about too much.
“I think there is a lot of talk, too much, about this issue. I already said, regarding Xavi’s future, that the decision he made is not what we wanted, but now we have to focus on playing game by game, on thinking about what we should do in the matches.”
‘Lucho’ has a contract with Paris Saint-Germain until 2025, and is coming into the crunch phase of his first year in the French capital. His willingness to move and PSG’s willingness to let him go without demanding a significant fee are in question though. Luis Enrique has spoken already about the coming season in Paris, and it looks as if only a major falling out at the end of the season could separate their paths, as PSG prepare for the post-Kylian Mbappe era. At Barcelona, he would also have significantly less resources at his disposal, both compared to his first spell and at PSG.
