Luis Enrique has left his position as head coach of Spain, stepping down from the role with immediate effect. 

The Spanish Football Federation called a surprise press conference to announce the news on Wednesday afternoon. 

The decision comes after Enrique was absent from Spain's last three international fixtures, after being granted leave for a family emergency back in March.


Assistant boss Robert Moreno, who was placed in charge for matches against Sweden, the Faroe Islands and Malta, has stepped up to fill the role on a permanent basis.

Enrique leaves La Roja after just 10 games, having guided the national side to eight wins and two defeats.


Despite being away from the touchline in recent months, it has been reported that the former Barcelona boss was still making decisions regarding team selection. 

It was his call to drop Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea a few weeks ago, favouring his Chelsea counterpart Kepa Arrizabalaga between the sticks. 

That choice has raised eyebrows, but three wins and two clean sheets from recent fixtures seems to have justified the 24-year-old as Spain's new number one.

Whether Kepa keeps his place under Moreno will be a whole different story. 

This is the Spaniard's first big head coach role after spending his career to date as an assistant.

But despite his inexperience, Moreno should have no trouble guiding his country through their Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Spain are currently top of Group F with a 100% record. They share the group with Romania, Sweden, Norway, Malta and the Faroe Islands.  

They next play Romania in August, meaning Moreno will have plenty of time to prepare for his first official game in charge. 

Speaking following the announcement of Enrique's departure, he said: "It's a bittersweet day; I always wanted to become a first-team coach but not this way"

"We will try to leave Luis Enrique's work at the top, get to the Euros and win it."