Ernesto Valverde has revealed he signed a new contract with Barcelona to prevent any negative speculation affecting the club.
Valverde was pleased to extend his stay at the Nou Camp in a deal which will keep him at the club until the end of the 2019/20 season with an option for one more year.
“The stability that comes with the new contract will serve us well, too much noise (about his future) could have had a negative impact on us. I said before that I had a good relationship with the club and everything happened naturally. They gave me an offer a while ago, we dwelled on it for some time and then we decided this was a good moment to announce it,” said Valverde.
The 55-year-old succeeded Luis Enrique as coach in 2017, earning the job after sustained success with Athletic Bilbao.
He guided Barca to a La Liga and Copa del Rey double in his debut campaign and almost led them to an unbeaten season in the league, losing only their penultimate game to Levante.