Chile duties rule Juan Antonio Pizzi out of running for Barcelona job - agent
Juan Antonio Pizzi will not be the next Barcelona manager, according to his agent Ricardo Schlieper.
Athletic Bilbao's Ernesto Valverde and Luis Enrique's assistant Juan Carlos Unzue are the current front runners to take over at Barca this summer, but Diario Sport reported on Monday that Chile coach Pizzi was also being considered by the Catalan club's hierarchy.
Pizzi spent two years playing for Barca in the 1990s and also has managerial experience in La Liga, having briefly coached Valencia just over three years ago.
"I spoke with Juan Antonio and it's not the moment to leave Chile," Schlieper told La Tercera. "He has an important commitment to La Roja. There have been no offers from other teams. In his head right now is this summer's Confederations Cup and for now he will not listen to other offers.
"There's been no formal contact with Barcelona. Juan's appreciated a lot [in Spain] and, despite the brevity of his spell with Valencia, he left a really good impression there."
Pizzi replaced Jorge Sampaoli as Chile coach at the beginning of 2016 and led them to success at last summer's Copa America Centenario, beating Lionel Messi's Argentina side in the final.
Prior to his move into international football, he had coached Leon, Valencia, San Lorenzo and, among others, Rosario Central.
Barca have been looking for a new coach since February when Luis Enrique revealed he would leave the club in the summer after three years in charge at Camp Nou.
Valverde and Unzue remain the favourites but sporting director Robert Fernandez insists there have been no developments in the search for a new manager[http://www.espnfc.com/barcelona/story/3112022/barcelona-have-no-update-on-appointing-luis-enriques-successor-director].
Despite the end of the season fast approaching, Fernandez has said the primary focus is on ensuring Luis Enrique goes out in style, with Barca still in the hunt for a league and cup double.
As well as Valverde and Unzue, Everton's Ronald Koeman, Red Bull Salzburg's Oscar Garcia and PSV Eindhoven's Phillip Cocu have all been touted as candidates for the vacancy.
Samuel Marsden covers Barcelona for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @SamuelMarsden.
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