(CNN) Reigning league champion, currently top of La Liga and through to the next round of the Champions League -- so why did Barcelona sack its coach Ernesto Valverde?

For most clubs, winning successive league titles, progressing to the knockout stages of this season's Champions League as group winner and being captained by Lionel Messi, one of soccer's greatest players, would be reasons to triumphantly cheer.

But Barcelona is different, it views success through a different prism, which is why Valverde's reign has come to an end after just under three years at the helm.

For the Catalans, one of the most successful clubs in European soccer, it is not only about what is won, but how those victories are achieved.

And domestic success means little if, say, the team squanders a 3-0 advantage and exits Europe's premier cup competition in inglorious fashion.

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