Burnley appoint López as Chief Football Officer and herald ‘new era’

At Genoa, López appointed Daniele De Rossi as Head Coach shortly after arriving, with the club bottom of Serie A, and they went on to stay up last season. He left earlier this month, with Genoa 17th after seven games.

Before that, López was Sporting Director and Head of Recruitment at Lens, Chief Scout at Bordeaux and Technical Director at Royal Excel Mouscron, having started out as a Senior International Scout at Lille.

Burnley said he will bring “strong leadership and long experience of identifying and developing talent in a high-performance environment.”

Chairman Alan Pace added: “This appointment is about raising standards across the whole football club. We wanted someone with deep experience in recruitment and player development, a strong knowledge of European markets and a clear understanding of how those come together to strengthen a club over the long term. Diego has a proven record of exactly that.”

López said: “I am eager to start exploring the great potential of this club. I understand our mission and I believe in what Burnley can become in the coming years, if we all work in the same direction with full determination. From my first conversations with Alan, it was clear there is real ambition here and a plan to match it.

“This club means everything to the town and its people. I want our supporters to recognise their team in the way we play, the players we recruit and how we represent the club. The work starts now.”

Burnley said López will speak to supporters through the club’s official channels in the coming days.

Burnley have not had a Director of Football or equivalent since Mike Rigg, who served as Technical Director from November 2018 to July 2021. 

Manager Sean Dyche was part of the selection committee that chose Rigg, whereas López will lead the search for the new Head Coach who will report into him. 

Belgian Nicky Hayen was sacked at the weekend after only 14 games in charge following a 4-1 defeat at Lincoln that left the Clarets in the Championship’s relegation zone.