OMNISPORT

Barcelona have appointed Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach ahead of next season.

The Catalans were in the market for a new man in charge following Luis Enrique's decision to leave the club at the end of the 2016-17 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 following 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.

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