Ernesto Valverde to leave Athletic Club at end of season | OneFootball

Ernesto Valverde has confirmed he will leave Athletic Club at the end of the season, bringing his third stint to a close.

Athletic said on Friday the decision was reached with the board, with 10 matches remaining. The 62-year-old said he had weighed it up for some time and wanted it out before the run-in.

He also underlined the importance of the run-in and said the team would give everything to hit their targets. Bilbao are 10th in La Liga, 20 points behind fourth-placed Villarreal and six off Celta Vigo, the lowest current European qualifier.

Valverde returned in 2021 and will finish a four-season spell that takes him past 500 matches in charge. His earlier tenures ran from 2003 to 2005 and 2013 to 2017, adding up to 10 seasons in the dugout.

Under him Athletic won the 2015 Supercopa and the 2024 Copa del Rey. He informed the squad in advance, aiming to head off the usual end-of-season speculation around his future, as he had tended to extend year by year.

Source: L'Équipe