Luis Enrique, who won a treble with FC Barcelona in 2014-15, is out of work since the Qatar World Cup. He is currently being closely associated with a job at Atletico Madrid, and the realization of these reports can have meaningful implications for Barcelona.
Luis Enrique took the Spanish National Team to the World Cup as one of the favorites. However, his team was unable to put in a convincing display at the tournament, in which they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by the underdogs of the tournament, Morocco. After that elimination, Luis Enrique parted ways with the Spanish National Team, and Luis de la Fuente was appointed in his stead.
Enrique has since been linked to a number of clubs, but the strongest association of the ex-Barcelona manager has been reported with Atletico Madrid. The Madrid club, after having a number of strong seasons under Diego Simeone, have been far from impressive this season. They were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages, and are also too far off from the top of the league table to present any effective challenge for the title.
El Chringuito reports that Atletico have already made a move to appoint Enrique at the end of this season, and will offer him a three year contract. They further claim that if he is appointed as the Atletico manager, he will try to get Ferran Torres from Barcelona to bolster his team’s attack.
Such a move would make sense for both the clubs, as Ferran Torres has been unable to retain a starting position in the squad, and has failed to justify his huge price tag. The Catalan club also needs to lighten their wage bill and obtain some cash to make new signings, and Torres’ sale can help in this regard. However, a lot of things still need to be sorted out before such a move can become a real possibility.