Barcelona look to ponder World Cup winning French manager

Ernesto Valverde’s recent comments have made it clear that the Barcelona manager has a very high chance of leaving the club in the summer.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde arrived at the club in the summer of 2017 and led the club to the domestic double in his first season in charge. Despite putting the club on track for a treble this time out, the former Athletic Bilbao manager has not agreed upon fresh terms with the Catalans. Now, Valverde has stated to Barcelona TV that he is unsure about what the future holds for him. Talking in an interview, the boss said:

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"“Next season? I do not know my future or what I will be doing at that stage. In football you never know what will happen, things are fluid and you can never allow yourself to think in the long term.”"

While in no way was his statement a solid proof of him definitely resigning from the helm at the end of this season, the doubt casted over the future was true and Barcelona’s board of directors may need to get into their appointers robe ahead of the summer if there is a task on their hands. In a club where you are expected to challenge for all three trophies, somebody with experience is necessary.

And with respect to that, former Paris Saint-Germain boss and a World Cup winner from his days with France’s national team- Laurent Blanc- has been shortlisted as an option by the Catalans, according to the Don Balon.

Laurent Blanc has nine years of experience on the managerial level, but the most commanding and respectful of those years were his previous six, when he coached France for two years and then ended up on the books of Paris Saint-Germain. In three years with PSG, Blanc guided the club to eleven trophies and won Manager of the Year awards on three different occasions.

Manchester United and Real Madrid have previously eyed him but to no good. Laurent Blanc has been without a job since being fired by Paris Saint-Germain in May 2016 and so, appointing him will have its positives as well as a few negatives.

The positive facet of the potential appointment will obviously be the fact that he has numerous titles and is a proven winner. Moreover, he has been without a job since nearly three years now and hence, his tactical game might be unpredictable for the latest managers. The negative is that he could have probably lost his touch and command over the game after not working for three years.