When Barcelona coach Xavi announced his departure at the end of the season, the first thing that caught the eye was the other managers who have a strong relationship with Barcelona, as well as some managers who are still at home.
So all things considered, who is most likely to be Barcelona's manager next season?
According to Barcelona's selection tradition, looking around La Liga, Pimienta is undoubtedly the best candidate.
Pimienta led Las Palmas to La Liga last season and have been in the league for the first time this season. Las Palmas sit ninth in La Liga this season, just five points off the European places.
And not only Pimienta has a strong Barcelona color, but also a number of important players from Barcelona in Las Palmas.
In 2018, Pimienta led Barcelona Under-19s to the UEFA Youth League title.
But after Laporta took office in '21, Pimienta was sacked from Atletico Barcelona and replaced by Barjuan, whom Laporta trusted more.
Pimienta's relationship with Laporta became the biggest obstacle to his return.
Marquez also became the head coach of Atletico Barça after Laporta took over, and last season Marquez's Atletico Barça managed to reach the promotion play-offs, eventually being overturned by Real Madrid Castillas in the two-legged semi-finals. And this season, Atletico Barcelona, led by Marquez, is only seventh in the Spanish Conference Liga.
Judging by the performance of two seasons, Max is indeed not a top coach, although Atletico Barcelona has been affected by the first-team players, but for a team like Atletico Barça that develops players more than results. The development and promotion of young people is the core purpose of Atletico Barça. Apparently Marquez has failed to complete this requirement, and Atletico Barcelona's results have not improved significantly under the premise of bringing in many older "mature players".
But with Barcelona short on funds, Marquez is the most likely first-team coach.
Imanol is a traditional coach cultivated by Real Sociedad himself, having officially become an assistant coach of Real Sociedad B in 2013 and taking over as manager in 2018. He has a wealth of La Liga experience and has been in European competition in six of his seasons under Imanol, with Real Sociedad finishing in the Champions League last season and finishing top of the Champions League group stage this season ahead of Inter Milan when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
This is a good coach for Barcelona to be in the situation, but he still has a contract with Real Sociedad and Barcelona may not be able to afford liquidated damages.
Since there are not many options on the market, and Barcelona are more concerned about the pedigree of the coach. So Thiago Motta, who is coaching in Bologna in Serie A, also had a scandal with Barcelona for a time. The 41-year-old has had a rough coaching career, sacking Genoa after just two months, but he led Bologna to a ninth-place finish last season, their highest league finish in 11 years.
Motta played for Barcelona between 2001 and 2007, but Motta himself recently replied that he would focus on Bologna and not consider other teams for the time being.
Considering Barcelona's financial situation, Michel is a good candidate, Michel has performed well in La Liga this season, and because Girona is also in the Catalan region, Michel is familiar with the Catalan style, characteristics.
On top of that, Barcelona value Michel's ability to fit in the squad. Girona have scored 51 goals in La Liga this season, second only to Bayern Munich in the top five leagues. The last one against them won 4-2 in a head-to-head confrontation with Barcelona.
The 44-year-old made a name for himself during his time at Sassuolo in Italy, and De Zerbi meets Barcelona's requirements for coaching: a wealth of coaching experience in European football.
And De Zerbi's coaching style is also very compatible with Barcelona, De Zerbi has led Brighton to play well in the Premier League in the past two seasons, and has overcome strong opponents.
Under De Zerbi, Brighton finished sixth in the Premier League last season and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.
But on an economic level, De Zerbi has a contract with Brighton until 2026 and the club wants to extend his contract for another year and increase his terms to 20 million euros.
El Monde Sport reports that FC Porto manager Sergio Consecao could be another option for Barcelona to succeed Xavi in the summer.
The 49-year-old has been in charge of Porto since 2017 and has won many titles and trophies during his time at the club.
According to the report, Conceição has a good relationship with Barcelona director Deco, with the two briefly being teammates during their playing careers.
In addition, the Portuguese coach is led by super agent Jorge Mendes**, who is also close to Barcelona president Joan Laporta, so he has a certain influence on the board.
Conceição's contract with Porto will also expire at the end of the season, making him a viable option for Barcelona.
Of course, Barcelona has other options such as Klopp, Arteta, Enrique, Flick and even Muinho.