Frank Rijkaard, the Barcelona coach, will leave the club at the end of the season and be replaced by Pep Guardiola, the current reserve team coach and a former player, president Joan Laporta announced today.

Rijkaard took over at the Nou Camp at the start of the 2003-04 season and led the Catalan club to successive La Liga titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06, the same year that they also beat Arsenal 2-1 in Paris to claim the Champions League.

But for the past two years, Barca have had to pay second fiddle to their main rivals, Real Madrid, who have now themselves won the Spanish title in successive seasons.

Barcelona's exit to Manchester United at the semi-final stage of the Champions League further fuelled speculation that the Dutchman was not expected to survive the summer, and the humiliating 4-1 defeat by Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on Wednesday night signified the end was imminent. Madrid were given a guard on honour on to the pitch before the match and then proceeded to totally outplay their opponents.