Manager coy on Barcelona link

The New York Times 16:27 - 24 May 2017

Athletic Bilbao's Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde waves to journalists at the end of a press conference in Bilbao on May 24, 2017 held to announce that he was quitting the football club

The 53-year-old Spaniard said that he had no agreements with any club and not spoken directly to anyone.

Ernesto Valverde said Wednesday there were clubs chasing him but refused to say if one of them was

The 53-year-old Spaniard resigned as Athletic Bilbao boss on Tuesday and Spanish media reports he should be named as successor to outgoing Barcelona coach Luis Enrique on Monday.

"I'm not going to deny that I have an agent and obviously there are teams that are interested in me," said Valverde, who played for Barcelona between 1988 and 1990.

"It is not the first time that I have had offers from big clubs," he added.

But Valverde said that he had no agreements with any club and not spoken directly to anyone.

"There is someone looking for an apartment for me in Rome, another who is looking for me a school in Barcelona..." he joked of the media reports linking him to a new job.