Barcelona on Monday named former player Luis Enrique as its new head coach. Enrique, who coached Celta de Vigo to a respectable ninth-place finish in La Liga last season, followsformer coach Pep Guardiola as the only man to have been the club’s captain, B team coach and first-team coach.
The former Barca midfielder, who spent eight seasonsplaying for the Blaugrana, will be tasked with bringing major trophies back to the Camp Nou. Last season, Barca failed to win any major trophies under former coach Gerardo Martino, settling for theSpanish Super Cup, which it won in the fall. Martino announced his departure from Barca by mutual consent on Sunday.
In addition to Enrique’s appointment, Barca also announced onMonday that star striker Lionel Messi has put pen to paper on a lucrative contract revision, which is reportedly worth 20 million euros per year ($27 million) and ties the Argentineto the club until 2018.
The three-time European champion has also been active in the transfer market, having already signed former Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andreter Stegen as a replacement for the departing Victor Valdes, in addition to young Croatian playmaker Alen Halilovic. The club is also reportedly keen to signChelsea defender David Luiz.