Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde: I haven’t thought about resigning

Ernesto Valverde insisted offering to resign as Barcelona coach had not crossed his mind after seeing his side bounce back from their Champions League nightmare with victory over Getafe on Sunday.

Barca were knocked out of Europe in sensational fashion on Tuesday night when Liverpool overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit to win their semi-final 4-3 on aggregate.

That chastening defeat came after Barca were dumped out of last season’s Champions League in similar fashion by Roma, and questions have been raised about the long-term futures of Valverde and several senior players.

The coach is determined to fight on though, and when asked if he had considered stepping down he told reporters: “No, I haven’t thought about it.”

Valverde was speaking after Barca beat Getafe 2-0 at the Nou Camp in their final home match of the season.

Arturo Vidal’s first-half strike and a late own goal settled the contest as champions Barca moved 11 points clear at the top of LaLiga and regained some confidence ahead of the Copa del Rey final later this month.

Valverde said, as reported by the Spanish media: “It was really important for us to win today, to take a step forward.

“The game was a tricky one because they (Getafe) were playing for a place in the Champions League.

“We were OK at the start but as the game went on we got better and better and I think we did well in the second half.”

Philippe Coutinho suffered a hamstring injury in the victory and is expected to be sidelined for around 10 days.

That would rule the Brazil international, whose future at Barca is also the subject of speculation, out of the club’s last LaLiga match at Eibar next weekend but could see him fit for the Copa del Rey final against Valencia.