Barcelona sack Ernesto Valverde and appoint Quique Setien

Barcelona have sacked coach Ernesto Valverde and replaced him with former Real Betis coach Quique Setien.

Valverde, 55, helped the club to two successive La Liga titles and they lead on goal difference this season.

However, the Catalan side have produced a series of unconvincing displays under his leadership and have failed to reach the Champions League final.

Setien, 61, led Betis to their highest finish since 2005 and to the Copa del Rey semis before leaving in May.
He has agreed to a two-and-a-half-year deal and will be presented to the media at 13:30 GMT on Tuesday.

In a statement, Barca said they had reached an agreement with Valverde to terminate his contract and thanked him "for his professionalism, his commitment, his dedication and his always positive treatment towards all that make up the Barca family".