Barcelona coach Luis Enrique will leave the Spanish La Liga champions at the end of the season,&nbsp;saying he needs to &quot;rest&quot;.

Luis Enrique made the announcement at the post-match conference after Barca thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 at the Nou Camp to keep up their bid for a third league title.

&quot;I would like to thank the club for the confidence they have shown in me, it&#39;s been three unforgettable years,&quot; said Luis Enrique, who has won two Liga titles, two King&#39;s Cups and the 2015 Champions League since succeeding Gerardo Martino in 2014.

&quot;It is a difficult, measured and well thought-out decision and I think I have to be loyal to what I think,&quot; said Enrique, who will leave at the end of his contract this summer.

&quot;It&#39;s about how I live with my profession, with a never-ending quest for solutions and to improve my team. That means I have very little time to rest, very few hours to disconnect.

&quot;I think it will be good for me at the end of the season, because I need to rest. That&#39;s the principle motive.&quot;

&quot;The most important thing is we have three exciting months left in all three competitions. In one of them, we are in a difficult situation but if the stars align, we will have a chance to turn it around.&quot;

Some of Enrique&#39;s best moments at FC Barcelona

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Barcelona is on the verge of elimination from the Champions League after losing 4-0 to Paris St-Germain in the first leg of the round of 16.

Luis Enrique&#39;s final dream at the Spanish club would be to defend the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles this season. &nbsp;

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique will leave the Spanish La Liga champions at the end of the season, ?saying he needs to "rest"

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique will leave the Spanish La Liga champions at the end of the season, saying he needs to "rest". Luis Enrique made the announcement at the post-match conference after Barca thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 at the Nou Camp to keep up their bid for a third league title. "I would like to thank the club for the confidence they have shown in me, it's been three unforgettable years," said Luis Enrique, who has won two Liga titles, two King's Cups and the 2015 Champions League since succeeding Gerardo Martino in 2014. "It is a difficult, measured and well thought-out decision and I think I have to be loyal to what I think," said Enrique, who will leave at the end of his contract this summer. "It's about how I live with my profession, with a never-ending quest for solutions and to improve my team. That means I have very little time to rest, very few hours to disconnect. "I think it will be good for me at the end of the season, because I need to rest. That's the principle motive." "The most important thing is we have three exciting months left in all three competitions. In one of them, we are in a difficult situation but if the stars align, we will have a chance to turn it around." Some of Enrique's best moments at FC Barcelona Barcelona is on the verge of elimination from the Champions League after losing 4-0 to Paris St-Germain in the first leg of the round of 16. Luis Enrique's final dream at the Spanish club would be to defend the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles this season.

Luis Enrique to quit as Barcelona boss at the end of season

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu sought to clarify the club&#39;s position on Lionel Messi&#39;s future on Saturday following a week of institutional upheaval by declaring that renewing the Argentine maestro&#39;s contract was &quot;indispensable&quot;.

&quot;We want Leo to stay here, we want him to renew with us and he&#39;s very important for the club and for Barca. We&#39;re working hard on it and when two people want the same thing there&#39;s always a happy ending,&quot; Bartomeu told Catalan network TV3.

Messi scored for the seventh game in a row as the champions thrashed Las Palmas 5-0 in La Liga on Saturday, barely 24 hours after the club demoted director Pere Gratacos for saying Messi would not be the player he is without his Barcelona teammates.

Earlier in the week, the club&#39;s CEO Oscar Grau had also generated intrigue about Messi&#39;s future by declaring Barca needed to use &quot;common sense&quot; when discussing a new contract for their all-time top scorer, whose current deal runs out in 2018.

&quot;I want to ease everyone&#39;s nerves,&quot; added Bartomeu. &quot;We&#39;ve been having conversations (with Messi) and it&#39;s only a matter of time. When there&#39;s any news we&#39;ll announce it, but we always conduct these matters with discretion.

&quot;I can&#39;t explain the details but we&#39;re speaking with his people. He&#39;s the best player in the world, we want him to stay here and so does he. He&#39;s very happy at Barcelona. It&#39;s an indispensable matter for us.&quot;

Bartomeu also explained that Gratacos had been removed from his role as Director of Institutional Relations but remained at the club, and said Grau&#39;s comments had been misinterpreted.

&quot;His words were taken out of context but we&#39;re used to that. Common sense says we have to renew Messi&#39;s (deal). He is the best player in the history of football, a leader and the best in the world. His importance cannot be questioned,&quot; he added.

Messi&#39;s strike partner and close friend Luis Suarez said there was no problem with the five-time World Player of the Year.

&quot;The media always make things into a soap opera and everything gets misinterpreted,&quot; noted the Uruguayan, who is the joint top scorer in La Liga along with Messi.

&quot;He wants to stay and the club knows what it has to do.&quot;

(Reuters)

'We want Leo to stay here, we want him to renew with us and he's very important for the club and for Barca,' Josep Maria Bartomeu said

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu sought to clarify the club's position on Lionel Messi's future on Saturday following a week of institutional upheaval by declaring that renewing the Argentine maestro's contract was "indispensable". "We want Leo to stay here, we want him to renew with us and he's very important for the club and for Barca. We're working hard on it and when two people want the same thing there's always a happy ending," Bartomeu told Catalan network TV3. Messi scored for the seventh game in a row as the champions thrashed Las Palmas 5-0 in La Liga on Saturday, barely 24 hours after the club demoted director Pere Gratacos for saying Messi would not be the player he is without his Barcelona teammates. Earlier in the week, the club's CEO Oscar Grau had also generated intrigue about Messi's future by declaring Barca needed to use "common sense" when discussing a new contract for their all-time top scorer, whose current deal runs out in 2018. "I want to ease everyone's nerves," added Bartomeu. "We've been having conversations (with Messi) and it's only a matter of time. When there's any news we'll announce it, but we always conduct these matters with discretion. "I can't explain the details but we're speaking with his people. He's the best player in the world, we want him to stay here and so does he. He's very happy at Barcelona. It's an indispensable matter for us." Bartomeu also explained that Gratacos had been removed from his role as Director of Institutional Relations but remained at the club, and said Grau's comments had been misinterpreted. "His words were taken out of context but we're used to that. Common sense says we have to renew Messi's (deal). He is the best player in the history of football, a leader and the best in the world. His importance cannot be questioned," he added. Messi's strike partner and close friend Luis Suarez said there was no problem with the five-time World Player of the Year. "The media always make things into a soap opera and everything gets misinterpreted," noted the Uruguayan, who is the joint top scorer in La Liga along with Messi. "He wants to stay and the club knows what it has to do." (Reuters)

Messi indispensable to Barcelona: Club president

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he wants to stay on at the Catalan club &quot;for a long time&quot; after his current contract with the club expires in 2018.

&quot;In 2018 my contract ends and my desire is to continue, the whole world knows this, it is no secret. But my level of performance will determine if I can stay at Barca. I hope it will be for a long time,&quot; the 32-year-old said in an interview with sports daily Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona recently reached a deal to extend the contract of Uruguay striker Luis Suarez to June 2021. His previous deal was due to expire in 2019.

In October, the club also extended the contract of Brazilian superstar Neymar until 2021 and they have already started talks to seal a new deal with Lionel Messi.

Along with Messi, Iniesta is Barcelona&#39;s most decorated player ever with 29 trophies, but he is even more loved across Spain for his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands.

Iniesta is second behind only former teammate Xavi Hernandez as the player to have made most Barca appearances.

He is also hopeful coach Luis Enrique will renew his contract with Barcelona when his current deal expires at the end of the season.

&quot;He is very motivated, I hope we can remain together and keep celebrating things, which is what we all want,&quot; Iniesta said.

Barca have also already tied down Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano to contract extentions this year.

(AFP)

He said his level of performance will determine if he can stay at Barca. His contract expires in 2018

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he wants to stay on at the Catalan club "for a long time" after his current contract with the club expires in 2018. "In 2018 my contract ends and my desire is to continue, the whole world knows this, it is no secret. But my level of performance will determine if I can stay at Barca. I hope it will be for a long time," the 32-year-old said in an interview with sports daily Mundo Deportivo. Barcelona recently reached a deal to extend the contract of Uruguay striker Luis Suarez to June 2021. His previous deal was due to expire in 2019. In October, the club also extended the contract of Brazilian superstar Neymar until 2021 and they have already started talks to seal a new deal with Lionel Messi. Along with Messi, Iniesta is Barcelona's most decorated player ever with 29 trophies, but he is even more loved across Spain for his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands. Iniesta is second behind only former teammate Xavi Hernandez as the player to have made most Barca appearances. He is also hopeful coach Luis Enrique will renew his contract with Barcelona when his current deal expires at the end of the season. "He is very motivated, I hope we can remain together and keep celebrating things, which is what we all want," Iniesta said. Barca have also already tied down Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano to contract extentions this year. (AFP)

Iniesta keen to extend Barcelona contract

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Luis Enrique to quit as Barcelona boss at the end of season

Messi indispensable to Barcelona: Club president

Iniesta keen to extend Barcelona contract