Gratacós was first-choice for Figueres during his eight-year spell, when healthy – he started in all but seven of the league matches he appeared in. After suffering relegation in 1993, he retired from football aged 35.
Coaching career
Gratacós started coaching one year after retiring, although he had already worked with Figueres in directorial capacities.[5] After a brief spell as an interim manager, he was in charge of two amateur teams – also in Catalonia – for four and a half seasons, returning to his main club in 2001 and making history as it became the first in division three to reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, eventually losing 2–1 on aggregate against Deportivo de La Coruña after previously ousting, amongst others, Barcelona and Osasuna.[6]
Gratacós returned to Barcelona's reserves in 2003, leading them to two midtable finishes in the third tier.[7] Subsequently, he coached the Catalonia national side in six friendlies.[8][9][10]
In January 2010, Gratacós returned to Barcelona, being appointed director of its training ground and academy Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.[11] On 13 January 2017, he was sacked after he said of Lionel Messi: "Without Iniesta, Neymar and the others, he wouldn't be such a good player".[12]