La Liga outfit Athletic Club have on Friday announced some groundbreaking news at the club.
This comes amid confirmation that the mutual decision has been made for Ernesto Valverde to step down from his role as head coach upon the season’s close.
Tactician Valverde has been on the bench in Bilbao since back in 2022, since establishing himself as something of an iconic figure.
The campaign to date, however, has proven to be a difficult one for club and manager alike.
Athletic currently sit in a lowly 10th in the La Liga table, with just 35 points on the board from 28 fixtures played.
And as alluded to above, such under-performance has this week seen those behind the scenes at San Mamés take decisive action.
As per a statement across the website and social media platforms of Los Leones:
‘Ernesto Valverde, an Athletic Club legend, has announced that he will not continue as the club’s head coach next season via a short video posted on Athletic’s official channels on Friday morning.
‘This decision had already been agreed with the club and is being made public now as we enter the final stretch of the season final stretch, with the team focusing on these last 10 LaLiga matches.’
ℹ️ Ernesto Valverde will step down as Athletic head coach at the end of the season.
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) March 20, 2026
"It’s a decision which I’ve come to over time and which has been agreed with the club."
"There are ten games left and we have a lot to gain."
We'll give you a proper send-off soon, Gaffer!
