Valverde, the "ideal" coach for Bartomeu

"We believe that Valverde is the ideal coach to manage Barcelona. This season we have brought young footballers in who must help us. He is the best to lead this combination of a generation of players of a certain age who have been so successful with that of promising players," Bartomeu said in an interview with The Asociated Press.

Because Valverde, the President believes, he has the gift of creating unity in the dressing room. "He is important to create this link, this unity, to form a new team and this new group must take Barca forward. Valverde has this ability," he explained.

He not only gave his support to Valverde, but also to Dembele. "It is not easy to arrive and win at Barca. He has had bad luck with injuries, but we trust in his talent," he said.

And he explained why they decided to get rid of Coutinho. "His adaptation was no easy. We opted for a loan to Bayern, but he is a world-class star," he expressed.

On the otherhand, he preferred not to speak too much about Neymar: "After what happened in the summer, he is still with PSG. So we must have the utmost respect for the club and its players."

Finally, he spoke at length about Leo Messi. The president predicted a long life in the Camp Nou and dropped the possibility of making him a lifetime contract.