Pressure on Barça manager Luis Enrique as future remains up in the air

Barcelona, through sporting director Robert Fernandez, are working on the planning for next season already. The interest in strengthening the right flank with the signing of Joao Cancelo is a clear sign of that. And he’s doing so with the consent, knowledge and participation of Luis Enrique… without the Barça coach, as of today, being absolutely certain if he will continue at the club beyond the expiration of his contract on Jun. 30, 2017. It’s Luis Enrique who tells Robert the areas he thinks need reinforcing. Robert and his team then look, analyse and present the different options. It is how it has been for the last two years and it’s how it will continue to be. 

However, this contradiction (to plan for a season without knowing if Luis Enrique will be in charge) is happening because Luis Enrique is not in a rush to make a decision on his future and, also, because Barcelona respect their manager’s position… to a certain point. As of today, as Josep Maria Bartomeu said, there is no rush. There is time. But time passes quickly and a club like Barcelona, as united as they are with their manager, as much as they respect him, cannot wait until the end of the season to know what coach will be in charge next season. 

And in this sense, Robert’s obligation is to have a contingency plan in place. Firstly, because that is his obligation. And secondly, because Barcelona have to be above any manager, whatever he’s called. For that reason, Luis Enrique should not be annoyed at all with Barcelona if, from a certain day (it could be Jan. 1), they begin to speak with other coaches. While he has the right to decide his future, Barça also have the right to cover their backs. 

The solution will come in the medium-term. Bartomeu publicly said that “we will begin to speak (with Luis Enrique) around April or May.” However, the recent comments made by the coach to Barça TV have created a certain amount of concern about whether he will or won’t renew. “My future? I don’t know. I have no doubt that I’m with the best team, the best club, the best players, in my home, with my family, winning things and enjoying myself a lot (…) but there’s also a part of this profession which is tough, which I struggle with, which has its negative aspects and I will have to assess it regarding the coming seasons. However, I’m still planning the club’s immediate future.” 

One thing is what is said publicly (they will not put pressure on the coach) and another thing is what happens inside the club. And it’s clear that Barcelona will not wait until May for Luis Enrique. It is too late. There’s no common sense in renewing players for the future (Luis Suarez, Neymar, Messi, Rakitic etc etc) and not knowing if you can count on your manager. 

The idea is that after the first trimester of 2017, after getting through March, the two parties will sit down and take a decision. Therefore, the next three months will be very important.

A period of time in which we will see what chance the team has of winning titles… and that could have a big influence on the coach’s final decision. The mood in football is marked by success. The line between euphoria and disappointment at the end of the season is often very fine at this level. However, whether Luis Enrique likes it or not, the pressure on whether or not he will stay at the club will continue to accompany him.