Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino has announced that he will be leaving his post after failing to lead the club to the league title.
Barcelona entered Saturday's final match of the season needing a win over leaders Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou to secure the title.
However, after taking a 1-0 lead in the first half through Alexis Sanchez, Atletico equalized shortly after the break and held on for a 1-1 draw which was good enough to clinch the club's first La Liga crown since 1996.
Martino arrived at Barcelona last summer from Newell's in Argentina as he took over for Tito Vilanova, who was battling cancer.
But after winning the Spanish Supercopa to start the season, Martino failed to deliver another trophy as Barca was knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals by Atletico and Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey.
"I want to communicate that I have agreed with the club to end my time as Barcelona coach," Martino said following Saturday's match. "I appreciate the club, the president [Josep Maria Bartomeu], sporting director [Andoni] Zubizarreta, [former president] Sandro [Rosell] having all supported me. But we did not achieve the objectives the club is used to, and has done year after year. We tried until the end, with a lot of humility, but we met a rival better than us."
No official announcement has been made regarding the next Barcelona manager, although reports in Spain have indicated that former Barca player Luis Enrique could be introduced as boss as early as next week after he resigned from the managerial post at Celta Vigo on Friday.
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