Rivaldo warns Barça over Koeman

RIVALDO has analysed the crisis of Barcelona, the arrival of Ronald Koeman by Quique Setién and the future of Messi.

The Brazilian asks for time for Koeman: “Barça is in a delicate situation and has work to do.”

“Koeman has a name to succeed on the Barça bench,” adds the former Barça player.

As for Leo Messi , Rivaldo explains: “Maybe even Messi thought it was time to leave, but I don’t think he will make that decision without first talking to the club.

Messi was sad and hurt by Bayern’s 2-8, but he is very grateful to Barça. The day he finishes playing football he will live in Barcelona.”

“Everything indicates that Barcelona will bet on Ronald Koeman as the club’s new coach after Quique Setién left. I worked with him in the days of Louis van Gaal, when he was an assistant coach, so I know him very well. In addition to being a historical player for Barcelona and being a good person, he learned a lot from the coaches he was assistant to and has been doing a good job in various clubs and now he was doing very well in the Netherlands national team, that’s right. Which is a good name to succeed in this position at Barça,” he wrote on Instagram.

But Rivaldo pleaded for patience: “Of course, he will have a great responsibility on his shoulders and he will need time to introduce his methods , so I hope that he will sign a contract for a long time (3-4 years) as the club is in a delicate situation and he has work to do: Fix the team for the next seasons and as quickly as possible. But of course you need to give him time to develop his work. There are going to be a lot of changes this summer with a lot of players coming and going, so I hope that can make the right decisions to make Barcelona strong again.”

“It is normal that after a game like this against Bayern many things go through the minds of the players and Messi may have even thought it was time to leave . But he would not make such a decision and all the rumours that came out after the game are going to destabilise the club even more.

“Certainly, he was sad and hurt by this result and this 2019-20 season, but he is very grateful to Barcelona, he has his life organised in the city and the day he finishes playing football he will live in Barcelona. I don’t think I will make this decision without first talking to the club’s board, as it is a long-standing partnership that has given much to both parties.

“Messi will not leave Barcelona without the club receiving some money in return. At least that’s my opinion, taking into account his personality and everything he has shown over the years.”