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Pep Guardiola has officially confirmed that he will step down from his role as head coach after this season and will take a break from football for some time.
The specialist's contract with the Spanish team will expire in June and will not be renewed.
The past few days have been very unsuccessful for Barcelona: the team lost a crucial match to Real Madrid over the weekend, practically burying their hopes of defending the country's championship title, and the draw with Chelsea on Tuesday blocked their path to the Champions League final.
Despite this, the club leaders praised Guardiola and encouraged him to stay at the helm of the team. President Rosell said: "We trust him. Pep is the man best suited to our style of play."
41-year-old Guardiola took over the reins of Barcelona four years ago - before that, he coached the reserve team. During this time, he managed to win two Champions League trophies, triumph three times in the Spanish championship, lift the country's King's Cup, win the Spanish Super Cup three times, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice.
