Barcelona named Valverde as Luis Enrique’s successor this afternoon.
The 53-year-old left Athletic Bilbao earlier this month amid heavy speculation he would take over at the Nou Camp.
Valverde will be the man charged with the duty of beating Real Madrid to the La Liga title next season after Barcelona missed out on the title for just the second time since 2012.
Real won the prize by three points this term – their first title triumph in five years and first under the tutelage of Zinedine Zidane.
And Bartomeu has lifted the lid on Valverde’s appointment.
He said: “Thank you first to Luis Enrique, a great coach and a great FCB fan.We know the solutions in search of excellence.
“A new era has started. This morning we decided our new manager. It is going to be Ernesto Valverde.
“Reasons? Experience, knowledge, loves working with Academy, his thinking is similar to our club’s. He will be presented on Thurs.”
Valverde spent two years at Barcelona between 1988 and 1990 during his playing days.
However, he will have a huge job to emulate Enrique, who won nine major trophies during his time in the hot seat.
