FC Barcelona has named Aleksandar Sekulic as its new head coach, entrusting the Slovenian with leading one of Europe’s most significant roster overhauls. The club announced Wednesday that Sekulic has signed a two-year contract, replacing Xavi Pascual ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The 48-year-old arrives after a successful campaign with Dubai Basketball, guiding the club to the ABA League championship following a midseason move from Zenit St. Petersburg, where he began the 2025-26 season before leaving in January.
Sekulic takes over a Barcelona team entering a new era. The Catalan club reached the EuroLeague Play-In Showdown last season before advancing to the Spanish League finals under Pascual, but a major offseason reset has reshaped both the roster and the coaching staff.
Pascual has since taken over as Dubai Basketball’s head coach, effectively swapping positions with Sekulic.
Barcelona finished ninth in the 2025-26 EuroLeague regular season with a 21-17 record, narrowly edging Crvena Zvezda on point differential for the final Play-In position.
Kevin Punter led Barcelona in EuroLeague scoring with 14.8 points per game while shooting 41.4% from three-point range. Will Clyburn added 13.8 points per contest before departing this summer, while Tornike Shengelia contributed 12.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists on an efficient 53.7% shooting from the field.
However, much of that core is now gone.
Barcelona has parted ways with veteran guards Tomas Satoransky and Nicolas Laprovittola, frontcourt players Willy Hernangomez and Youssoupha Fall, Clyburn, reserve forwards Miles Norris and Myles Cale, guard Juani Marcos and longtime center Jan Vesely, who announced his retirement.
To begin rebuilding, the club has added Josh Nebo, Justin Robinson, Umoja Gibson, Agustin Ubal and Olivier Nkamhoua. The new additions will join returning leaders such as Punter, Shengelia, Joel Parra and Dario Brizuela as Barcelona attempts to return to the EuroLeague’s elite.
Sekulic brings extensive coaching experience from across Europe. After beginning his career as an assistant with Geoplin Slovan Ljubljana at just 22 years old, he became the club’s head coach before later managing Triglav Kranj, Luka Koper, Krka Novo Mesto, LTH Castings Skofja Loka and Primorska in Slovenia.
His first major international success came with CEZ Basketball Nymburk, where he served as an assistant before taking over as head coach and leading the Czech club to the 2022 domestic league title. He later coached Lokomotiv Kuban and Zenit before finishing last season with Dubai Basketball.
Sekulic has also built an impressive résumé on the international stage. He has coached the Slovenian national team since 2020 after previously serving as an assistant under Igor Kokoskov during Slovenia’s historic EuroBasket 2017 championship run.
