River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo rejected an approach from Barcelona to replace Ernesto Valverde last year, it has been revealed.

TyC Sports says Gallardo had just kicked off River Plate's pre-season preparations and was not willing to abandon a club that had put their faith in him both as a coach and player.

After Gallardo rejected Barcelona, the Catalan side appointed Quique Setien who couldn't lead the team to LaLiga Santander success.

Back in August, Barcelona were knocked out by Bayern Munich following a humiliating 8-2 defeat in the Champions League quarter-final and Setien was dismissed.

Meanwhile, River Plate were unable to win a single trophy last season, with Gallardo's name having also been linked to Real Madrid as a possible replacement for Zinedine Zidane.