Ernesto Valverde's position as Barcelona manager appears to be hanging by a thread.

Despite the club being top of the La Liga table and into the last-16 of the Champions League, Valverde is on the cusp of being sacked.

The club's 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa semi-final - where they conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes - appears to have been the final straw for those upstairs.

In the aftermath of that defeat, many reports have stated that club legend Xavi Hernandez was asked to come in and replace Valverde.

The Spaniard has apparently said 'no' to the club for now, leaving Barcelona stuck with Valverde and open to criticism for their questionable actions.

Even Andres Iniesta has questioned the ethical approach by the Blaugrana, saying his beloved side have 'acted a bit ugly' in recent days.

"Barcelona's behaviour has been a little ugly," he said to El Transistor, per Sport. "You have to have respect for your current coach. The way things are done is what can hurt the most."

The Vissel Kobe midfielder says "Valverde's situation has been weakened" and hopes "the situation at the club is solved because it's not nice what's going on, not for the coach, the players or the fans." 

He's right, the current situation is beneficial for absolutely no one.

While fans haven't warmed to Valverde's pragmatism and rigid on-field tactics, the former Athletic Bilbao boss deserves far more respect for his achievements.

Two La Liga titles have been comfortably delivered to the Camp Nou, but those sadly pale in comparison to his two failures in the Champions League.

That 3-0 defeat in Rome, followed by a 4-0 humiliation at Liverpool just over a year later, will be the games that define the Valverde era.

But never forget that Lionel Messi has consistently defended and supported Valverde during his tenure and if that doesn't speak volumes, then nothing will.