Barcelona appoints Valverde as new head coach

Spanish football giant Barcelona has confirmed Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach.

The 53-year-old former Barcelona player will replace Luis Enrique at the end of the season.

Valverde, who had been in charge of Athletic Bilbao for the last four seasons, has signed a two-year deal.

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu said, "Valverde has the ability, the judgement, the knowledge and the experience.

"He promotes the youth players and he has a Barca way.

Valverde's official introduction to fans and the media will be held on Thursday.

He previously played for Barcelona as a forward between 1988 and 1990 under Johan Cruyff.

Valverde began his coaching career with Athletic's youth set-up and is the Basque club's longest serving coach, overseeing 308 games over six years in two different spells.

As well as qualifying Athletic for Europe in five of his six years with the club, he ended a 31-year wait for a trophy by leading them to the 2015 Spanish Super Cup, beating Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate.