Monchi returns to Sevilla for second spell

Monchi has returned to Sevilla as sporting director, the LaLiga club have confirmed. The 50-year-old initially joined Sevilla as a goalkeeper in 1988 before becoming the behind-the-scenes mastermind of a glorious modern era.

The club won five Europa Leagues in the space of a decade, beginning with back-to-back titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07 before a run of three in a row concluded with a 3-1 comeback win over Liverpool in the 2016 final. Sevilla also claimed the Copa del Rey in 2006-07 and 2009-10.

Monchi departed in 2017 to take on the same role at Roma and, although the capital club secured a third-place finish in 2017-18, their form has deteriorated this season.

Head coach Eusebio Di Francesco paid with his job as a Champions League exit at the hands of Porto came a little over a month after a 7-1 reverse to Fiorentina in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. Those setbacks placed Monchi's normally acclaimed recruitment under a harsh lense and he followed Di Francesco out of the Stadio Olimpico exit door having clashed with fans in the aftermath of the Porto reverse.

 

March 17, 2019

A reunion with Unai Emery at Arsenal was mooted, along with reports linking him to PSG, but the pull has proved too strong from Sevilla, who sacked head coach Pablo Machin following Thursday's Europa League exit to Slavia Prague.

They lie sixth in LaLiga, five points shy of the top four heading into Sunday's trip to Espanyol, with Joaquin Caparros beginning his third spell in charge as head coach for the remainder of the campaign. Caparros had been serving as sporting director but his move into the dugout makes room for Monchi, who will be officially presented in a news conference at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Monday.