Madrid, May 4 (IANS) Villarreal has confirmed that coach Marcelino Garcia Toral will leave the club at the end of the current season after two and a half years in charge in his second spell, during which he twice led the club into the Champions League.

The news came in a statement published by the club after Saturday’s 5-1 home win over Levante, which secured Villarreal’s place in next season’s Champions League and left the east-coast club third in La Liga with a five-point cushion over Atletico Madrid, reported Xinhua.

“Villarreal CF and the Asturian (region of northern Spain) coach will part ways at the end of the season. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Marce, for everything you have given to this club and these fans.”

“We wish you all the best in your future sporting endeavors,” the club confirmed on social media.

The news had been expected after the coach and club failed to reach an agreement on a new contract at the start of the year.

Marcelino returned to Villarreal as the club’s third coach of the season in November 2023 after a brief spell at Olympique Marseille. His task that season was to steer the club to safety in La Liga, while last season Villarreal finished fifth and qualified for the Champions League.

The club’s European campaign was a major disappointment, with Villarreal suffering seven defeats and managing only one draw in its eight group games to finish 35th out of 36 teams in the competition.

Villarreal also disappointed in the Copa del Rey, losing to second-division Racing Santander in the round of 32, and those two setbacks could be factors in Marcelino’s departure despite another excellent league campaign.

Speaking to the press on Saturday, Marcelino gave a strong indication that his departure was near.

“We have to follow certain timelines, and those timelines are determined by conversations and mutual agreement,” said the coach.

“When we arrived here, we had several objectives: on a sporting level, to change a very negative dynamic, to eliminate the fear and uncertainty that the team had. We achieved that. We managed to rejuvenate the squad on the sporting side, and finally, we want to leave as friends when the time comes,” he concluded.

Rayo Vallecano coach Inigo Perez is thought to be the club’s preferred candidate to take over next season.

–IANS

hs/