Even though Deco has been unofficially operating as Barcelona’s sporting director all through the summer, the club have not made an official announcement confirming his appointment thus far.
However, that is set to change today, with Gerard Romero reporting that the former midfielder’s appointment as the new sporting director will be confirmed today by the Blaugrana.
Deco took over the reins of the transfer operations at Barcelona this summer, replacing Jordi Cruyff, who decided to move on upon the expiry of his contract.
The former Portugal midfielder is now a key stakeholder in the transfer department, along with Mateu Alemany.
It has been previously reported that Deco will have bigger responsibilities than Cruyff did, while taking some of the burden off of Alemany’s shoulders at the club.
Deco had been operating as Barça’s transfer advisor, especially with regard to the South American market, before his appointment as the sporting director.
As a result, he had to leave his operations as a football agent, before taking over his new role with Barcelona.
Deco has helped Barcelona close some key operations already this summer, most notably the signing of Vitor Roque, with the former Chelsea and Barcelona star playing a crucial role in the transfer.
It has not been completely smooth sailing for Deco so far, though, as he failed to land Arda Guler’s signing despite making serious efforts, with the Turkish ace signing for rivals Real Madrid instead.
Furthermore, there have been reports of him not seeing eye to eye with manager Xavi Hernandez over the right-back targets. Deco is understood to prefer a younger option in Ivan Fresneda, while the manager wants an experienced player in Joao Cancelo.
It is now expected that the 45-year-old’s appointment will be made official later today.
