Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu Says Ernesto Valverde Will Return as Manager

Ernesto Valverde will return to Barcelona for the 2019-20 season, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed to ESPN FC's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

Although Barcelona extended Valverde's contract in February, he appeared to be on shaky ground after the club lost to Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals and fell to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final.

The circumstances of Barca's Champions League exit were particularly unflattering toward Valverde. Barcelona led 3-0 after the first leg at home and surrendered four unanswered goals to Liverpool in the second leg at Anfield.

It was the second straight season in which they threw away a three-goal lead after the first leg in the Champions League knockout stage. Roma won 3-0 in the Stadio Olimpico in the quarterfinals to advance.

Valverde did help guide Barca to a Spanish league title, their second straight La Liga crown. But they had six fewer points (87) in 2018-19 compared to the season before, when they finished with 93 points.

ESPN FC's Graham Hunter laid out the reasons Valverde isn't solely to blame for the club's disappointing season. The team is reliant far too much on Lionel Messi—almost mirroring the effect Messi has on the Argentina national team—while Philippe Coutinho has provided underwhelming returns since arriving from Liverpool in January 2018.

Simply put, Barcelona aren't as stacked as they were during the heyday of the Pep Guardiola era.

Having said that, supporters are right to question whether another manager might be able to get more out of the players at his disposal. A different voice in the dressing room could lead to a different response from the team on the pitch.

In addition, dropping a three-goal lead once in a major knockout tie can be chalked up as a fluke and some amount of bad luck. Doing the very same thing the following year forces one to question Valverde's tactical nous.

By assuring everybody of Valverde's status now, Bartomeu at least ensured the topic won't continue to linger throughout the summer as the club looks to strengthen its ranks in the transfer market.