Diego Martínez, new coach of Espanyol

Espanyol announced this Tuesday that Diego Martínez is their new coach, instead of Vicente Moreno, dismissed before the end of last season, when the club had achieved permanence in the First Division.

Diego Martínez, 41, was currently without a team after managing Granada in the 2020-21 season.

The election of the Galician coach has been the first important decision of the new sports director, Domingo Catoria, who took over the position after the dismissal of Francisco Rufete before the end of the previous year.

👊 Let the match begin!

pic.twitter.com/JWuqdRwlvY

– RCD Espanyol of Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol) May 31, 2022

Moreno's departure was a decision by the president and largest shareholder of the Catalan entity, Chen Yansheng.

As explained in the blue and white club, the option of dispensing with Moreno before the end of the League had an economic explanation: due to a clause in the contract, it is cheaper for Espanyol to fire the coach before the end of the season.

But also, according to the same sources, after a three-way conversation between Moreno, Chen Yansheng and the CEO, Mao Ye, it was agreed that the best solution for both parties was for the coach to leave Espanyol after the permanence was sealed.

Once the objective was fulfilled, it was not necessary to extend his presence in Cornellà.

Chen Yansheng seeks to restructure Espanyol.

The Chinese businessman understands that the club needs to connect with the fans.

The first decision made by the owner of the blue and white entity was to fire the CEO, José María Duran, in March.

His place is taken by Mao Ye, his confidant since he landed in Barcelona in 2016. Mao and Chen had already planned that Vicente Moreno would not continue next season.

They understood that his cycle was over and they did not want to start looking for a replacement with him at the head of the first team.

Now Diego Martínez takes the reins of the new blue and white project after directing Granada for three seasons and leading the Andalusian team to the quarterfinals of the Europa League in his last year, a round in which he lost to Manchester United.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on