QUIQUE SETIEN is set to be axed after Barcelona were humiliated by Bayern Munich.
The Spanish veteran, 61, only landed the job in January but saw bitter rivals Real Madrid win LaLiga after football returned.
Quique Setien is on the verge of being sacked by Barcelona after a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich[/caption]
And a dismal display in an 8-2 hammering in the Champions League quarter-finals has all-but ended his hopes of being at the Camp Nou next season.
Fabrizio Romano claims club chiefs have already made the decision to axe their faltering boss in a turbulent period on and off the field for the club.
Star man Lionel Messi, 33, publicly criticised Barca’s “weak” and “erratic” football after seeing Los Blancos win the title.
And team-mate Gerard Pique, also 33, opened the door to moving aside to letting fresh legs take over the reins at one of world football’s dominant sides.
Barcelona legend Gerard Pique (right) gave an emotional interview after the game and revealed he could move aside as the club rebuild[/caption]
He said: “If I have to go for us to bring in new blood, I’ll go. It’s an embarrassment.
“If this is the end of our run? Yes, we need to structurally change. We are not able to compete in Europe, and it’s not working in La Liga. We can’t mask this any longer.”
Setien later sounded like a man defeated and resigned to his fate.
He said: “It’s a tremendously painful defeat. They scored more goals that they merited.
“We started pretty well but the power of the opponents, in many phases of the play, overran us.
“I’m not going to talk about what is needed at the club. I’ve been here for just a few months.
“If Gerard Pique says that it’s time for big changes there’s going to be importance to his words.
“It’s time for us to review and take the decisions which are needed for the future.
“I think that right now it’s too soon to be talking about whether I stay at the club or not.
“The reality is that it doesn’t depend on me. It’s worth all of us working out what’s important and considering a wide range of things which correspond to a defeat of this importance and which is so painful.”
Quique Setien sounded like a man defeated and resigned to his fate when he spoke after the game[/caption]
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu hardly gave the manager a ringing endorsement when he spoke after the game.
He told Spanish press: “It’s a really heavy defeat.
“I want to congratulate Bayern, who played a great game. They deserve to go through to the semi finals.
“We weren’t at our best, nor near it. Today was a disaster and now we have to make decisions.
“We’ve already thought about some of them. Today isn’t a day for decisions.
“We want to apologise to the fans, members and Barcelonistas.”
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the performance was a ‘disaster’ and ‘now we have to make decisions’[/caption]
When pressed on who may be involved in those decisions, he refused to give a clearer answer.
“I’m not going to say what [decisions] they are because some of them have already been made and others will be made,” he added.
“Today is a day to reflect. From tomorrow, we’ll try to lift the spirits of all the Barcelona fans and we’ll make decisions from next week.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
