As per the report by Mirror, Ronald Koeman has blamed Barcelona president Joan Laporta for lacking admiration in the midst of rumors concerning the Dutchman’s future.
The Dutchman said he has not been supported by the club’s board. He has been disrespected by the media and is in the dark about his future. His position may be also at risk with Barcelona contacting former player Xavi Hernandez as a potential replacement.
Koeman had long been tipped to be Barca coach after a stellar playing career with the club. He was approached to succeed Ernesto Valverde in January 2020 but rejected the offer to manage Holland into Euro 2020.
But after the tournament was postponed because of the pandemic and Barcelona sacked Valverde’s successor Quique Setien. Koeman left his role with the Dutch national team and accepted the job at Camp Nou.
The Catalans had a decent start to their 2020-21 campaign. They were in 14th place in the La Liga table in November and finished second in the Champions League group behind Juventus.
They were eventually knocked out of the round-of-16 against Paris Saint Germain. But Koeman’s side went to win 4-0 in the Copa Del Rey final in April to claim their first trophy under the Dutchman.
But Koeman has come under pressure despite winning the Copa Del Rey. His side dropped out of the LaLiga title race after just one win in the last five matches. They finished third this season below Atletico and Real Madrid.
Koeman not happy about Laporta’s comments
Barcelona’s president has commented following this poor form of Barcelona in front of the media. He said some big changes are needed for the next seasons to improve the club’s future.
Barcelona has already listed 14 players from the team as potential transfers and loan. While Koeman is likely to be shown the exit door in the coming weeks. Barcelona will keep Koeman in the manager’s role if a replacement cannot be found.
It is believed that Xavi is the favorite to replace Koeman as the manager. But the deal might not be happening as Xavi has already signed a contract extension with Al-Sadd AC until 2023
“You need to respect your coach and players more. In the last part of the season, I’ve not felt the support of the club. Things have come out in the press. They don’t deserve that kind of treatment, things should be done differently”.
While the Dutchman has latched onto Laporta for his remarks and blamed the Barcelona president for lacking appreciation. He also commented how discouraging is the reporting of Spanish media following the recent news.
