Monchi has returned to Sevilla as sporting director, the La Liga club has confirmed.
A reunion with Unai Emery at Arsenal was mooted, along with reports linking him to PSG, but the pull has proved too strong from Sevilla, which sacked head coach Pablo Machin following Thursday's Europa League exit to Slavia Prague.
READ | Europa League: Sevilla sacks Pablo Machin after shock exit
Monchi initially joined Sevilla as a goalkeeper in 1988 before becoming the behind-the-scenes mastermind of a glorious modern era. The club won five Europa Leagues in the space of a decade, beginning with back-to-back titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07 before a run of three in a row concluded with a 3-1 comeback win over Liverpool in the 2016 final. Sevilla also claimed the Copa del Rey in 2006-07 and 2009-10.
Monchi departed in 2017 to take on the same role at Roma and, although the capital club secured a third-place finish in 2017-18, its form has deteriorated this season.
Head coach Eusebio Di Francesco lost his job after a Champions League exit at the hands of Porto, which came a little over a month after a 7-1 reverse to Fiorentina in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
RELATED | Di Francesco sacked by Roma
Those setbacks placed Monchi's normally acclaimed recruitment under a harsh lens and he followed Di Francesco out of the Stadio Olimpico exit door having clashed with fans in the aftermath of the Porto reverse.
Sevilla lies sixth in La Liga, five points shy of the top four heading into Sunday's trip to Espanyol, with Joaquin Caparros beginning his third spell in charge as head coach for the remainder of the campaign.
Caparros had been serving as sporting director but his move into the dugout makes room for Monchi, who will be officially presented in a news conference at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Monday.
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