Quique Setien has been chosen as the new coach of Villareal. Unai Emery has moved to Premier League side Aston Villa, while the Spanish club’s management have chosen the former Barcelona coach as his successor. The 64-year-old signed until 2024 with Villarreal.
Setien has been on leave since August 2020, when his adventure on the Barcelona bench ended. In a statement for Onda Cero, he focused on the relationship with Leo Messi, as he announced that he still has a salary to receive from the Catalan club.
“Barca still owes me, they haven’t paid me off. As for Messi, I can’t say for sure if I was disappointed by him or not. Some things I liked a lot, others less, but I have to deal with them.
Villareal? I wasn’t entirely convinced that an opportunity would come my way in a place that might suit me. It was a big surprise! Villarreal had a coach who was doing very well and it didn’t look like anything could happen.
I had offers from abroad, I could have gone to the USA, but I didn’t want to leave Spain”, said Setien, who will make his debut with Villarreal in the transfer to Athletic Bilbao.