'They tried to paint me as an ogre' - Ex-Spain assistant coach reveals confusion after Luis Enrique sacked him

The professional relationship between Moreno and Luis Enrique was one of the most successful in modern Spanish football, spanning stints at Roma, Celta Vigo, and Barcelona. However, it collapsed in 2019 when Luis Enrique returned to the Spain bench following the tragic death of his daughter. Moreno, who had stepped in as head coach to secure Euro 2020 qualification, found himself surplus to requirements.

The transition from loyal assistant to outcast happened behind closed doors but quickly spilled into the public eye. Moreno revealed that the decision was delivered personally but without the level of nuance he had expected, given their shared history.

Speaking in an interview on the program 'El Camino de Mario' with former Spain international Mario Suarez, Moreno detailed the moment his professional partnership with Luis Enrique ended.

"I went to his house after the unfortunate death of his daughter and told him that what I had done publicly, I was going to fulfill," Moreno explained, as quoted by Marca. "He told me that he no longer counted on me, that he would never coach with me again.

"They tried to paint me as an ogre, as someone who wanted to stay at all costs. Things were published that were very ugly, saying that I had not gone to see him at that time, when really what we did was respect everything he told us. On a personal level, it was very hard."

The fallout reached a breaking point during Luis Enrique’s re-presentation press conference, where the current Paris Saint-Germain boss accused Moreno of being "disloyal". This public condemnation had a devastating impact on Moreno’s family, who were caught in the crossfire of the media storm.

"My mother called me crying, asking if everything I was saying was true, because she didn't understand," Moreno recalled. "I know things, but I'm not going to say them because third parties told me, and I want to respect that. Let everyone interpret it as they wish. I've realized that the narrative is often much stronger than the truth."

The interview also touched on Moreno's tenure as manager of Russian club FK Sochi, which ended in a bizarre way. Andrei Orlov, the former sporting director of the Russian team, accused the Spaniard of using ChatGPT for planning, training, and player recruitment. Among these activities, the executive accused Moreno of keeping his players awake for 28 hours before a trip to Khabarovsk, a city in the east of the country.

"Basically, what I had done was prepare myself professionally. Talking to doctors, with people who were used to it," Moreno said. "The only thing I did was make the players wake up a bit earlier during the week so that the seven-hour gap became three."