Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde will not continue with the Spanish team next season.
Valverde announced that he will be moving on after Saturday's 4-3 loss at Sevilla that meant it finished the season in fifth place and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
He said that he had taken the decision some time before but had not made it public to ''maintain the competitive spirit of the team.''
Valverde arrived in Valencia in December on a six-month contract. The club has been mired in serious financial problems and has changed presidents. Former Valencia player Miroslav Djukic coached his last game for Valladolid on Saturday and has been rumored to be Valverde's replacement.
"This has been my last game for Valencia," Valverde said in comments reported on the club's official Twitter account. If I waited until now to say this it is because my intention was to keep the competitive spirit (in the side)."
Valencia went into the night in fourth place, but their defeat, coupled with Sociedad's 1-0 win over relegated Deportivo La Coruna saw the two clubs flip places and sent Valencia into the Europa League.
Valverde's frustration at the final score, and the performance of the referee Cloz Gomez, was clear in his press conference.
"The whole team and I are very sorry we could not take the club to the Champions League," he said. The match was very marked, the referee did not have a good day to say the least. It seems unfair that the match has been so unbalanced by the decisions of the referee."
