Barcelona has appointed Ernesto Valverde as its new manager ahead of next season.

The Catalans were in the market for a new man in charge after Luis Enrique's decision to leave the club at the end of the 2016-2017 campaign and have turned to the former Athletic Bilbao boss.

Valverde represented Barcelona during his playing career, wearing the Blaugrana jersey between 1988 and 1990.

He moved into coaching at Bilbao's B side in 2002, before being promoted to head coach of their first team the next season.

He then enjoyed spells at Espanyol, Olympiacos, Villarreal and Valencia before eventually returning to Athletic in 2013.

The 53 year-old announced his decision to leave the Basque side after four years at the helm last week and will continue his career at Camp Nou.

Valverde will be looking to turn Barcelona into the team to beat in LaLiga again, with the Catalans having to settle for second behind arch-rivals Real Madrid this season.

Barca also missed out on UEFA Champions League glory as Juventus proved to be too strong in the quarter-finals.