Valdes: Era not over

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes had dismissed talk of an end of an era at Camp Nou.

The imminent departure of coach Pep Guardiola, coupled with their failure to retain their Champions League and La Liga titles, has prompted experts to claim that Barcelona’s reign of power is coming to an end.

However, with Barca still in contention to end their campaign on a high by winning the Copa del Rey, Valdes insisted that the mood in the dressing room was far from downbeat after their final La Liga outing of the season against Real Betis on Saturday night.

“We hope to win the cup,” Valdes said on Saturday.

“This season two important titles have slipped away, but we’ll be back as strong as ever next year.”

Although he conceded twice against Betis, Valdes still managed to seal his fourth successive Zamora award – for the lowest ‘goals-to-games’ ratio.

“The award was not a priority, but it’s important for the whole team to win this award,” the 30-year-old argued.

Barca will now be hoping to give the outgoing Guardiola a fitting send-off in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25.