Julen Lopetegui is set to become West Ham United’s new manager – and journalist Guillem Balague has made a clarification about the Spaniard’s exit from Wolves.
It is now being widely reported that the former Molineux boss will succeed David Moyes, who is officially leaving at the end of the season. The club confirmed the news yesterday in a statement.
Moyes has been under pressure for some time, with fans unhappy with the style of football on show.
Reportedly, Lopetegui has agreed terms with the Hammers and will take over in the summer, in what would be his first job since leaving Wolves.
Lopetegui – who recently described his time at Wolves as ‘wonderful’ – walked away from Molineux just days before the 2023/24 season after weeks of speculation claiming he was unhappy. As he prepares to finally take on another Premier League job, journalist Guillem Balague has now shared some details about Lopetegui’s exit from Wolves…
Guillem Balague insists Julen Lopetegui did think Wolves’ squad was good enough, but goalposts were moved ‘three times’
Lopetegui is now a bit of a divisive figure at Molineux.
Many had a hard time accepting the way he left the club last summer and at the time, there was a feeling that Lopetegui walked away because he didn’t believe in the players at his disposal to achieve anything significant.
But journalist Guillem Balague last night suggested that this was simply not the case.
He said on X: “Two things about Lopetegui He DID NOT leave Wolves because he thought the squad was poor. It was because the goal post was moved THREE times. If at work your boss lies to you three times, do you stay? A man of principle like him has to go.
“Secondly, he WAS NOT born as manager when he arrived to England where he had EXTRAORDINARY success at Wolves (from bottom to 13th, 7 points from relegation). He actually was brilliant at Sevilla, Spain and Porto, and was chosen as a Real Madrid manager, no less. He is a very top exciting manager Not sure why Wolves fans are upset with him and not with the board.”
Many Wolves fans were left frustrated when Lopetegui did an interview with Balague just a couple of weeks before his departure. This was something that reportedly left club officials irritated.
Lopetegui expressed his frustration to the journalist, with many feeling as though he used him to help put pressure on the club and ultimately engineer his exit.
Lopetegui to West Ham will be fascinating
So Lopetegui did believe in the Wolves players and seemingly left mainly because of broken promises.
Plenty of Wolves fans will probably still hold some feelings of frustration and bitterness towards the former Molineux boss, but ultimately the club are in a better place now with Gary O’Neil.
We will never know exactly what was said to Lopetegui about the club’s financial position. Perhaps he himself will clear it all up one day.
But for now, Wolves fans should be excited that O’Neil is in charge and will have his first full summer to improve the squad.
Meanwhile, it will be really interesting to see how Lopetegui gets on at West Ham. Wolves fans know that the football wasn’t particularly exciting during his brief reign, but there was obviously a big focus on getting results to avoid relegation.