Quique Setien: I don’t know whether Barcelona will sack me

Quique Setien and Lionel Messi in a past match. [Photo: Courtesy]

Barcelona coach Quique Setien has downplayed questions on his stay at the Catalan club after the Bayern Munich humiliation on Friday.

Setien avoided discussing with journalists whether he would be sacked after the tortuous 8-2 defeat to Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals in Portugal on Friday night.

The former Real Betis coach, however, admitted that big changes have to be made going forward.

"Right now it's too soon to say whether I will continue or not. It's not up to me and the club will have to have a deep reflection that corresponds to such a humiliating and painful defeat.

"This defeat has hurt me a lot. It's such an overwhelming defeat and I'm not just worried about my future, I'm thinking about what an awful defeat this is for the club and for the fans,” Setien told journalists.

This is not the first time Barcelona have been humiliated in Europe but Setien assured that the team has to analyse its mistakes.

Barcelona's oldest XI for a UEFA Champions League match was picked apart. Their average age was 29 years and 329 days, and Barca looked like veterans as they were repeatedly carved open.

"I know what a defeat of this calibre means but we have to analyse what has happened today from a wider perspective," Setien added.

"I know that the credibility of a coach decreases when you have a defeat like this. We were over-powered by a very, very good team. Save for the first few minutes, they completely overwhelmed us,” Setien pointed out.

Football - Champions League - Quarter Final - FC Barcelona v Bayern Munich - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - August 14, 2020. Barcelona coach Quique Setien. [REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/Pool]

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu did not reveal what consequences such a seismic defeat would have on the squad and coaching staff, but he implied that the scale of the result would ensure some were moved on quicker than first thought.

"We were not at the level we want to be today. It was a disaster and soon we will take some decisions," he said.

"We had been thinking about some of them already and we will inform the affected people in the coming days. Some of those decisions had already been made, others will be made in the next few days.

"But right now is a time to reflect, not to make decisions in the heat of the moment. Above all, we want to apologise to all Barcelona fans for this heavy result."

Predecessor Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January partly for his role in Barca's two previous exits (against AS Roma, Liverpool) from the Champions League.

The Catalans won the trophy five years ago in a treble-winning season.

Football - Champions League - FC Barcelona Training - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - August 13, 2020. FC Barcelona coach Quique Setien and players during training. [REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/Pool]