Luis Enrique is a former player and a Spanish football manager. He is known for playing for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. As a manager, Luis has managed FC Barcelona, Roma, and Celta and is currently on the radar of London-based club Chelsea. Luis Enrique is married to Elena Cullell and in this post, we will take a look at who his wife is.

ALSO READ: Luis Enrique Children: Meet Xana, Sira and Pacho

He represented the Spanish national team in three FIFA World Cups and one UEFA Euro. He is now a successful coach, having led Barcelona to a treble in his first season as manager.

Luis Enrique Biography

Enrique was born in Gijón, Asturias, in 1970, and started his football career with the local team Sporting de Gijón. He gained the nickname Lucho after Luis Flores, a Mexican forward in the team. He later moved to Real Madrid, where he spent five seasons. However, he rarely felt appreciated by the Real Madrid supporters and didn’t have good memories there.

In 1996, he moved to their fierce rivals at the Camp Nou on a free transfer. The Catalans’ supporters were at first hesitant about their new acquisition, but he soon won the hearts of the cules, staying eight years, eventually becoming team captain and scoring several times in El Clásico against his former employers. He passionately celebrated at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he grabbed his jersey after a 25-yard strike that beat the opposing goalkeeper.

During his time in Barcelona, Luis Enrique was a prolific goal-scorer. He netted 46 La Liga goals in his first three seasons with Barcelona, with the side finishing runner-up in 1996–97 and subsequently winning back-to-back domestic championship accolades. Furthermore, he was named Spanish Player of the Year by El País in the following campaign. He also scored the opening goal in the 1997 UEFA Super Cup, a 3–1 aggregate triumph against Borussia Dortmund.

However, during his final years in Barcelona, Luis Enrique was often injured and did not want to renew his contract. He had been offered a deal by his first club Sporting, which he, however, declined, stating that “he wouldn’t be able to reach the level he demanded of himself” and that “he wouldn’t be doing Sporting much of a favour by going there.” His concerns about his level and fitness made him retire on 10 August 2004 at the age of 34, and he finished his professional career with league totals of 400 games and 102 goals, being named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March.

After retiring from playing football, Luis Enrique turned his focus to coaching. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 to take over the reins of the B team, renamed Barcelona Atlètic for that season. In his second season, he found success, helping the club return to Segunda División after an absence of 11 years.

In mid-March 2011, Luis Enrique announced he would leave at the end of the campaign, despite still having two years left on his contract. He led the side to the playoffs, but they were ineligible for promotion. On 8 June 2011, Luis Enrique reached an agreement with Italian Serie A club A.S. Roma to become the Giallorossi’s new head coach. He signed a two-year contract, being joined by a staff of four members, including Iván de la Peña who played two years for crosstown rivals S.S. Lazio, as a technical collaborator.

Luis Enrique’s stint at Roma was a mixed bag. The club was eliminated from the UEFA Europa League by ŠK Slovan Bratislava, amid great discussion of the substitution of legendary Francesco Totti for Stefano Okaka. The capital-based side also lost their first game in the domestic league against Cagliari Calcio. In 2023, Luis Enrique is on the radar of London-based club Chelsea who are currently searching for a new manager.

Who is Luis Enrique’s wife, Elena Cullell?

Luis Enrique and his wife Elena Cullell have been married for over 20 years since 1997. The couple are blessed with three children namely Sira (born in 1997), Pacho (born in 2001) and Xana (born in 2010 but died at age 9 on 29 August 2019 as a result of bone cancer).

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