Luis Enrique says he wants to steer clear of the hearsay surrounding who will replace him as Barcelona manager, but admits he wouldn't be angry with his assistant Juan Carlos Unzue if he's the man chosen to take over.
Unzue, whose brief experience as a first-team coach includes spells with Numancia and Racing Santander, has emerged as one of the leading contenders to take over at Camp Nou this summer.
As well as Athletic Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde, the Catalan media make him one of the favourites for the job and several Barca players lent their support to his candidacy this week, too.
Barca coach Luis Enrique stopped short of advocating him for the job, but did, in a roundabout way, give him his blessing.
"It's impossible for me to be angry with Juan Carlos, we've been friends for such a long time," he said in a news conference on Saturday when asked if he'd be annoyed if his No. 2 did eventually replace him.
However, he didn't want to say anything else on the subject, adding: "I have given my opinion on this before. I've said I will keep out of it and that's what I will do."
Unzue, who has been part of Luis Enrique's coaching staff since he was Celta Vigo coach back in 2013, is currently preparing for Sunday's La Liga game against Valencia at Camp Nou.
A stoppage time Lionel Messi penalty sealed a thrilling 3-2 win at Mestalla earlier this season against a Valencia side who won when they last visited Catalonia at the end of last season.
"They have always been a difficult opponents for us, not just here but in Valencia as well," Luis Enrique said of his side's final opponents before the international break.
"It's been tough against them. They're a powerful team, which we will have to be careful about and keep in mind. We will approach the game in the best way possible against a side with a lot of quality players who will pose problems for us."
Following last weekend's defeat to Deportivo La Coruna, the Blaugrana begin the weekend two points behind leaders Real Madrid, who have played a game less.