Josep Bartomeu: Valverde's not to blame, players will leave
The president backed the coach despite Copa del Rey final defeat
Josep Maria Bartomeu backed Ernesto Valverde despite Barca's 2-1 Copa del Rey final defeat by Valencia on Saturday. He spoke to Spanish television. Here are his key quotes:
Defeat: It wasn't to be today. First of all, I want to congratulate Valencia, they're a worthy champion. We tried in the second half, we worked really hard and that's the important thing. You could say that we had 80 percent possession, but the team who scored the most goals won the game.
Next season: We've been thinking about next season for a while now, but it's not the moment to explain what will happen. I have to thank the fans that have come down to Sevilla today. The season ends with the La Liga title. It wasn't to be in the Copa del Rey and we keep moving forward. There are always new signings, but now is not the moment to talk about it.
Ins and outs: Every year new players come in. So far we have confirmed De Jong's signing and now we will work on bringing in others and moving players on, as is normal every summer. Now is not the moment to do anything.
Valverde: He has a contract, he's the coach. This defeat is not the manager's fault. We had a lot of chances but the ball wouldn't go in. Sometimes you have all the shots, but what counts is scoring goals.
Valoration of the season: I wouldn't say the season's been a failure, but it's not been excellent, either. Each year we want to get to the final stage of the season with the best chance of winning everything and in the end we've lost two games, at Anfield and here, and we've missed out on two titles.
