Spanish Football Association president Luis Rubiales confirmed that the decision to dismiss Luis Enrique from his role as national team manager had nothing to do with Enrique’s Twitch streams during the World Cup. The Spanish FA’s decision not to renew Enrique’s contract came as a result of a desire to improve the team’s performance.
After being eliminated in the Round of 16 by Morocco in a penalty shootout, the Spanish FA determined that a new direction would be required in order to improve the team’s performances on the international stage.
This led to the appointment of Luis de la Fuente as Spain’s new coach. A former Spain under-21 coach, de la Fuente was unveiled as Spain’s new manager in Madrid on Monday after the RFEF board gave its approval for his recruitment.
“I’ve read a lot of stories, that [it] was his Twitch, that it was his bicycle [rides], things like that,” Rubiales commented. “But there was nothing like that. The three of us, the outgoing sporting director [Jose Molina], the new sporting director [Albert Luque] and I, we agreed we should start a new project, led by Luis de la Fuente. There’s nothing else.”
Spain will now turn its focus to qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2024 competition. The first round of qualifiers begins in March 2023.
