Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Koeman ‘will be’ boss next season say Barca
BARCELONA president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed the club’s intention to appoint Ronald Koeman as their new head coach.
The Holland coach, who played for Barca between 1989 and 1995, has expressed his interest in replacing Quique Setien after being strongly linked with the role.
Bartomeu said: “If nothing goes wrong, Koeman will be Barca’s coach next season.
“We already know how he thinks and his philosophy.”
Setien was shown the door on Monday in the wake of Friday’s stunning 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League which has also cost sporting director Eric Abidal his job.
And Bartomeu also indicated that Koeman, who is contracted with the Dutch national team until the 2022 World Cup, had been their first choice ahead of Setien when the latter was appointed in January of this year.
“We bet on him,” Bartomeu continued. “He has been in (Johan) Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’. He was the first one we called in January. It’s a dream for him.”
Barca said a new managerial appointment would be made “in the coming days”, and ex-Everton manager Koeman briefly discussed the vacancy outside the Dutch Football Federation headquarters yesterday.
Asked whether he would like to return to Barcelona, the 57-year-old, told reporters: “Yes, I’d like to but it will only be confirmed once I have signed the contract.
“Until then, I cannot say any more about it – even though I’d like to.”
Koeman spent six years as a player at the Nou Camp and scored the winning goal in the 1992 European Cup Final against Sampdoria.
The news of Abidal’s exit hot on the heels of Setien’s could be just the start of a summer of overhaul for the club, with the future of captain Lionel Messi very much up in the air.
“FC Barcelona and Eric Abidal have reached an agreement for the termination of the contract binding both parties,” a Barca statement read.
“The club publicly expresses its gratitude to Eric Abidal for the professionalism, commitment, dedication and positive and close treatment that he has always shown towards all the estates that make up the Barca family, and wishes him luck and success in the future.”
Setien, who replaced Ernesto Valverde in January, had signed a contract to keep him at the club until summer 2022, but was sacked after only seven months in charge.
The 61-year-old won 16 of his 25 games at the Barca helm but the team ended the 2019/20 campaign trophyless.
Even before
Friday’s embarrassment against Bayern, Setien was under pressure after he failed to stop Real Madrid clinching the league title.
The one-time Real Betis boss was also unable to lead Barcelona to success in the Copa del Rey as they were knocked out by Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals.
One of the problems for the new man in charge will be the future of talisman Messi, out of contract next summer. The Argentine has so far failed to agree new terms with the only club of his career and, at 33, has been linked with a move.