Eight months after his dismissal from FC Barcelona, Ronald Koeman has again taken action against his ex-club. The ex-coach specifically targeted President Joan Laporta and blamed him for his departure.
“A president can always have doubts about his coach within the club, but it was a big mistake to make that public. It was a big mistake because the press picked it up. I went through a very complicated year and a half. It was a bit like a salvation for me to leave Barca,” Koeman told the Catalan TV station Esport3.
The 59-year-old felt a great deal of trust within his team. “Barca never had a problem in the dressing room. Nobody complained,” said Koeman. Due to the financial problems, the departure of ex-president Josep-Maria Bartomeu, a sporting descent and the departure of club icon Lionel Messi to PSG, it was a “very difficult and unpleasant time” for him.
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“One of Barca’s problems is that they live in the past, the tiki-taka reigns supreme. But football has changed, it’s become much faster and more physical. And there’s no more Xavi, Iniesta and Messi,” explained Koeman, who will succeed Louis van Gaal from January 2023 and become Bondscoach for the second time in his coaching career.
Koeman also commented on a possible move from Bayern superstar Robert Lewandowski to FC Barcelona: “Lewandowski is a great player, a great scorer, but he is already a certain age at 35. I have my doubts as to whether I have 50 or 60 million would pay for a player that age, on top of his salary. He has maybe two very good years left.”
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