Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde to leave at end of season

By Canadian Press on March 20, 2026.

MADRID (AP) — Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde will leave the club at the end of the season, he said on Friday.

Valverde has coached the most games in the history of Athletic. Sunday’s La Liga game against Real Betis will be No. 495 in charge of the club based in northern Spain.

Valverde, whose contract expires at the end of June, did not give a specific reason for leaving.

“I have been mulling over this decision for some time,” he said in a video posted on the club’s social media channels.

Valverde, a former player, has led Athletic over three different stints: from 2003-05, 2013-17 and since 2022. He steered the club, which only fields players born in or near the Basque Country region, to the 2024 Copa del Rey title.

He also coached Barcelona to two Spanish league titles in 2017 and 2018.

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The Associated Press