Setien accepts future out of his hands as Bartomeu hints at changes after Bayern humiliation

Quique Setien accepts his Barcelona future is out of his hands, as the club’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu hinted at changes after Champions League humiliation.

Barca slumped to a remarkable 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday, as a frustrating season ended on a dismal note.

The loss seems to leave Setien – appointed in January as Ernesto Valverde’s replacement – on the brink, with Barca having failed to win a trophy for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.

Although Setien accepted a defeat of this nature has done his chances of keeping the job little good, he also insisted it was no time to be discussing his future.

“It’s a tremendously painful defeat. They scored more goals that they merited. We started pretty well but the power of the opponents, in many phases of the play, overran us,” the former Real Betis coach told Movistar.

“I think that right now it’s too soon to be talking about whether I stay at the club or not. The reality is that it doesn’t depend on me.

“It’s worth all of us working out what’s important and considering a wide range of things that correspond to a defeat of this importance, and one that is so painful.

“I am aware of what a defeat of this calibre means. What has happened must be analysed from a broader perspective, but the credibility of a coach when this happens decreases. But it’s not what I care about right now.”

8 – Barcelona conceded eight goals in a game for the first time since losing 8-0 to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey Last 16 in 1946. Collapse@ChampionsLeague #ChampionsLeague #FCBFCB pic.twitter.com/JfIe8ZyGjl

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 14, 2020

In the aftermath of the defeat, Gerard Pique claimed big changes have to be made at Barca, not just with the coaching and playing staff, but throughout the club, and Setien echoed the defender’s sentiment.

“I’m not going to talk about what is needed at the club, I’ve been here for just a few months,” Setien said.

“If Gerard Pique says that it’s time for big changes, there’s going to be importance to his words. It’s time for us to review and take the decisions which are needed for the future.”

Those changes may already be afoot, with president Bartomeu – whose position has come under increased scrutiny – apologising to Barca’s fans and confirming some decisions have already been made.

“I congratulate Bayern. Pique is right. It was a disaster,” Bartomeu told Movistar. “We will make decisions – some we have already made and we will say in [the coming] days.

“I am not going to say now what the decisions are because some were already taken before this game. Next week those decisions will be explained.”