The last few months of Ronald Koeman’s tenure as head coach of Barcelona became extremely toxic as there was a clear rift between him and the club’s board led by president Joan Laporta. The former Dutch manager has now slammed the President for not backing him enough.
The Dutchman took over the reins of the club after he was appointed by former chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu following Quique Setien’s departure in 2020. While Koeman guided the side to a Copa del Rey title and also came extremely close to winning La Liga, his time at the club was tumultuous, especially the last few months.
The Presidential elections took place in the midst of Koeman’s tenure as head coach and it has always been clear that Laporta, serving in his second term as president of the club, was never convinced by the idea of Koeman being the first-team coach as he was not their managerial appointment.
As such, constant rifts, especially after a disastrous summer transfer window marked by economic paralysis as well as the departure of Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain, became extremely common. Koeman was eventually sacked a few months into the new season following a string of poor results.
In a recent interview with Mundo Deportivo, Koeman has expressed his displeasure at the way the entire situation was handled.
“They did not give me the same time as Xavi. Laporta told me a thousand times that Xavi would not be his coach, because he lacked experience,” he said.
He also accused Laporta of not backing him enough and mentioned that he would’ve also preferred working with the signings that Barcelona made during the recent transfer window in order to accommodate Xavi’s wishes. He even went on to suggest foul play regarding the circumstances that led to Messi’s departure from the team.
“I would have liked these signings as well. But I’m happy for the club, since things are going better now, and for the players. It’s nice to see Frenkie de Jong play good, old-fashioned football, he has so much quality. I was working with injuries. Now Pedri is back in shape, and also Ousmane Dembele. You can see the difference.
“The management insisted on the departure of some players to put the finances in order, and I agreed. But then you see that they pay €55 million for someone shortly after letting Messi leave.”
“Then you wonder if something else was going on? Why did Messi leave?”
