Is time running out for Valverde at Barca?

The president Josep Maria Bartomeu has always had faith in the coach. He did so after Barca were knocked out by Roma and convinced the board members that sacking the manager after the Anfield debacle was not the solution. 

Now, with all the competitions in play, Barca will stick with Valverde until 30th June, but it is not clear what will happen after that date. 

17 years have passed since the club sacked a manager during the season (Louis Van Gaal) and it does not seem like that is the immediate solution. That is the message from the board, especially because it is very difficult to find a substitute who is liked by the crowd, the board and the players. 

The players are the group who support Valverde the most. He feels backed by his footballers as shown after comments made by the senior players after the loss to Atletico Madrid. 

In public, Ernesto Valverde's continuity is not called into the question. Another thing is what is said in private. In Catalonia, 'RAC1' reported that the director general, Oscar Grau, and the sporting director, Eric Abidal, had met with Xavi Hernandez in Qatar. 

According to Barca, the meeting had been planned for some days and they took advantage as Grau and Abidal were in Qatar to check on how Ousmane Dembele was recovering from his injury. 

A meeting of the board is planned for Monday 13th January. Afterwards, there will be an update on the 'Espai Barca' project, but nobody denies that it will be a good moment to talk about Ernesto Valverde again.