The move came four days after the La Liga leaders' loss to Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup, a result that significantly increased pressure on Valverde.

The club said it reached an agreement with 55-year-old Valverde to terminate his contract.

Setien, a 61-year-old Spaniard who played for Atletico Madrid, is known for setting up teams that often mimicked Barcelona's attacking-minded style.

"Throughout his career he has been a proponent of possession-based, attacking football that has been attractive to the fans," Barcelona said of Setien.

The club called Setien "one of the most experienced coaches in Spanish football."

He will be presented on Tuesday at the Camp Nou after he sealed a deal until June 2022.

It is the first time since 2003 that Barcelona has made a change in the middle of the season.

Louis van Gaal left the club that January and since then six other coaches have begun their stints at the start of the season.

The coaching change announcement brought to a close a dramatic day at the club that began with Valverde turning up early for training and then meeting president Josep Bartomeu before the club's board of directors met to seal his fate.

Valverde's departure came with Barcelona leading the Spanish league and a few weeks from facing Napoli in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Barcelona drew three of their past four Liga games, though, and pressure on Valverde increased after the team conceded two late goals in the 3-2 loss to Atletico in Saudi Arabia.

The length of Setien's contract will surprise many, particularly in view of their former star Xavi Hernandez having been the board's apparent first choice.

However, it's believed Xavi - who is coach of Qatari side Al Saad - turned down an offer to take the reins at Barca despite having said it was his dream to one day be coach the Catalan giants.

Setien had been with Betis since 2017 and qualified them for the Europea League in his first season before he decided to take some time off at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

He previously coached smaller Spanish clubs Racing Santander, Las Palmas and Lugo.

In addition to successive league titles, Valverde also won the Copa del Rey in 2018 after taking charge in 2017.

Though he had a superb domestic record, Valverde's standing was weakened by his failure to win the Champions League, suffering shock eliminations by Roma in 2018 and Liverpool in 2019 after taking a three-goal lead in each tie.

Barcelona's next game is on Sunday at home against Granada in La Liga.

Australian Associated Press