Ernesto Valverde to leave Athletic at end of season | OneFootball

Ernesto Valverde will step down as Athletic head coach at the end of the season, closing his tally at 502 matches. According to El Correo, he informed the squad at midday with 10 league games remaining to head off speculation over his future.

In a club video he said the decision had been made over time and discussed with the board, and he urged focus on the run-in starting against Betis on Sunday.

His farewell is set for 24 May at the Bernabéu, ending a relationship across three spells and 10 seasons that makes him the coach with the most matches in the club’s history. Valverde, 62, aligned with Jon Uriarte in the last presidential elections, was backed by Uriarte and Ricardo Barkala, and returned after Uriarte’s win.

Under him, Athletic returned to the Europa League, then the Champions League, and ended a 40-year wait by winning the Copa del Rey in 2024.

This season has been far tougher. Last year they lost only six league games and conceded 29 goals, finishing fourth and reaching the Europa League semi-finals. Injuries and the Champions League load led president Jon Uriarte to set 42 points as the safety target, and the strain has also weighed on Valverde.

Athletic have 35 points, the lowest total of his career after 28 league matches across the 17 seasons he both started and finished. Villarreal, Valencia and his third year at Barcelona fall outside that sample due to mid-season changes.

After the defeat in Montilivi he accepted the team have not met the raised expectations from recent seasons and said this year has proved difficult for various reasons. Director of football Mikel González said before that match the situation would be clarified in the coming weeks, but Valverde’s decision, communicated to the players, should now end recurring questions.

Source: El Correo