Tito Vilanova is stepping down as head coach of Barcelona.

The words were uttered quietly by Sandro Rosell, the club's president, last night but they seemed to resonate within the suite inside Camp Nou, since Vilanova was being forced to retreat from frontline coaching to continue his treatment for cancer.

It had been immediately evident that the club's hastily arranged press conference would deliver grave news – Rosell outlining the situation to both journalists and members of the Barcelona first team, who sat quietly in the back. It was a scene reminiscent of that which greeted the news that Pep Guardiola was to step down last summer, making room for his erstwhile assistant Vilanova to take over, only there was no cause to ask when Barca's coach was likely to return to the game.

Vilanova had already disengaged from football to have a tumour removed form his throat in 2011 and his health proved to be a persistent concern, even while leading Barca to their fourth Primera Division title in five years, becoming only the second team after Real Madrid to reach the 100-point barrier.

"The news I have is something that you never want to give," said Rosell last night. "After evaluating Tito's routine tests, the treatment to follow will be incompatible with being the first-team coach at Barcelona. I want to ask for respect for the privacy of this process."

It was a press conference which had been anticipated for much of last season, given Vilanova was given leave in December to travel to New York to undergo a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The club had made an effort to allow the coach to operate between courses of treatment but it has since become clear that the 44-year-old would be better served by stepping back. "It's a tough blow but Barca have suffered many blows and we've got through them," added Rosell, who confirmed the first team had cancelled training last night and would not now travel to Poland for a pre-season friendly with Lechia Gdansk.

That was to allow the players to digest the departure of a coach, yet Rosell will privately have taken steps to appoint a new one. Reports in Spain last night seemed to toy with the idea that Joan Francesc Ferrer – known commonly as Rubi – could now take over in an interim capacity.

He had been appointed as assistant to Vilanova and Jordi Roura last month, having been head coach of Segunda Division side Girona last season. "We will present the new coach, probably at the start of next week," said Rosell.