The manager himself, true to his style, has not been willing to give any clues. He responded to the question about his future in preseason but ever since he's replied with a resounding and consistent "no comment." And not always politely.

"I will not decide my future until the end of the season," he said in July when questioned about the fact he's into the final year of his deal. "If it were down to me, I would make contracts for two weeks or a month at a time. I will leave Barcelona the day they get rid of me or when I do not have the strength to continue."

There have been plenty of questions in news conferences since. They've been arriving with increased frequency, too, given the fact the days are now ticking away.

Luis Enrique has been here before. He arrived from Celta Vigo on a two-year deal and appeared to be toying with the idea of leaving the club at the end of what developed into a hugely successful first season. However, he eventually committed to a one-year extension, the final weapon in president Josep Maria Bartomeu's election campaign in 2015.

Now his renewal is up for debate again and, while Luis Enrique refuses to talk about it, Bartomeu has been vocal in his desire to keep hold of the 46-year-old.

"Our wish is that Luis Enrique continues in the job, but we've agreed with him that until April we will not talk about next season," the president said recently. "Even if [Barca] don't win any titles [this season], he's the manager we want. There will be time to talk."

The local press are split on how Bartomeu and his board of directors are handling the situation privately, though.

Mundo Deportivo say both the club and the coach remain calm and are working on the present and the future. They add that there's no pressure on Luis Enrique and that there is definitely no plan B. It would, they say, be counter-productive to put the squeeze on him.

Diario Sport disagree. They insist there is pressure on Luis Enrique -- if not necessarily intentionally -- and claim it would be foolish to get to the end of the campaign for Luis Enrique to then to decide not to continue. Surely, there must be a contingency plan.

But if Luis Enrique has been here before, then Barca have, too. After four years in charge and 14 trophies, Pep Guardiola walked away from the club in 2012.

"The reason is simple: four years is enough," Guardiola explained at the time. "I'm drained and I need to fill up. The demand has been very high and a manager must be strong."

Guardiola's decision was made public in April, but he'd informed the club of his intentions the previous December. And there have been signs this December that Luis Enrique, too, is feeling the wear and tear of being the manager of one of the world's biggest clubs.

"There is an element of this job that is very hard, it costs me a lot and it's a negative that I have to factor in when considering the next few seasons," he said in an interview with Barca TV over Christmas. "I am aware that I am either here [with Barcelona] or nowhere. But I have time and the club will stand by me."

There are differences to the Guardiola situation. Firstly, Luis Enrique is only in his third season at the club but perhaps most importantly, he doesn't carry the same reputation as his predecessor.

He doesn't have the acclaim with the media and fans that the current Manchester City coach had. Sections of Camp Nou do now regularly sing his name and his stock has dramatically risen since that point of inflection in San Sebastian in January 2015, helped infinitely by success on the pitch, but he is still not universally popular.

There are fans that attribute the success to the players and the failings to the manager. There are journalists, too, who do the same. For example, to the backdrop of the current contract saga, Sport's Lluis Mascaro criticised him over Christmas.

"Luis Enrique will never be Pep Guardiola," he wrote. "Guardiola was an idol. Luis Enrique is 'just' a manager. The club want him to continue. But not at any cost. And there is a deadline. If he doesn't make his mind up soon, the club will look for an alternative."

Despite being a former Barca player -- one who signed from Real Madrid -- he's not been given an easy ride by the media. Matching Guardiola's success (and he could yet better him) has come at a cost for some. This Barca side, it has been argued, has become a little too pragmatic for some style purists.

So if Guardiola grew tired, you can imagine how Luis Enrique is feeling. As well as having to come up with new ways to keep winning games and trophies, every news conference feels like a war of attrition as questions about his team's style and his future rain down on him.

It's for that reason that no-one really knows what his next move will be. Few would be surprised, though, if he does decide against extending his contract for another year.