• Returning Spain manager did not want Moreno as his No 2 again • Luis Enrique claims Moreno asked to stay in charge at Euro 2020

Luis Enrique returned to his post as Spain manager and took full responsibility for Robert Moreno’s departure from the national team setup, accusing his predecessor and former assistant of being disloyal.

“I do not want anyone like that on my staff,” Luis Enrique said. In an extraordinary press conference, the returning manager claimed Moreno had proposed remaining in charge until after Euro 2020 and then working as Luis Enrique’s assistant, and that he had rejected the idea.

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“The only time I have seen Moreno in all this time was on 12 September when we had a 20-30-minute meeting at my home,” Luis Enrique said. “He was clear that he wanted to coach at the Euro and then I could come back and he would work as my assistant. It wasn’t a surprise: I could see it coming.

“I try to put myself in his position, I understand it; I understand that he worked hard to be there, to have that opportunity, and that he is ambitious, but for me it was disloyal, and I would never do that.

“I do not want anyone with that personality on my staff. Ambition is a virtue but over-ambition is not: it is a great defect. That is why I took the decision I took. I told him that day that I didn’t ever see him as a No 2 on my staff. I told him I felt like going back to work, but not yet. The only person responsible for the fact that Robert Moreno is not here, it’s me. It’s not the [Spanish football federation] president [Luis] Rubiales or [its sporting director José] Molina, nor the federation.”

Moreno had taken temporary charge after Luis Enrique suddenly left the Spain team camp in March following news that his daughter Xana was seriously ill. Although he continued to manage the team from a distance with Moreno taking his place on the bench, in June Luis Enrique announced that he was stepping down. Moreno was handed the job and given a contract until the end of Euro 2020, although Rubiales said that was always on the understanding that Luis Enrique could return. His daughter died on 29 August.

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In September, just before that meeting, Moreno had said he would be delighted to step aside if Luis Enrique wanted to return, but it is clear his attitude changed. The following month Luis Enrique told the federation during a meeting in Zaragoza that he was ready to come back. “I never phoned them,” he insisted. He also admitted he had one other call about returning to work, which he turned down – from a foreign club.

When Moreno became aware of discussions about bringing Luis Enrique back, he demanded that his future be clarified, precipitating his sacking. He left following Spain’s final qualification game last Monday, departing the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in tears. The following day it was announced that Luis Enrique would return.

At his presentation on Wednesday Luis Enrique, who was calm and measured even though he did not hold back, said he did not feel proud of the way it had played out, Moreno departing hurt and angry rather than allowing for a smooth return for his former friend.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Robert Moreno, pictured this month before his departure as Spain’s manager. Photograph: Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images

“I don’t like seeing anyone suffer,” Luis Enrique said, but he insisted that he had “no regrets”. He added: “I feel partly responsible for that. I am not going to hand out lessons on values to anyone but those are very important in the job we have as we are role models for children.

“Life situations show you who people are, allow you to really know them. They show you who you can trust and who you can’t, who has ethics, who doesn’t. I see who is on my side and take measures, no more.”

Asked whether his doubts over Moreno were more professional or personal, he replied: “I have no criticism professionally: he is a capable coach. I had no doubts on the other thing until the words were one thing and the facts very different. But, please, let’s not go rooting through the rubbish.

“The controversy is created by someone who worked in my staff for a long time, many years. I am not the good guy in this, but I am definitely not the bad guy either.”