At the end of October, FC Barcelona parted ways with Ronald Koeman. Since then, the Dutchman has remained silent – only now to find clear words about Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta.
Koeman took over at Barcelona in August 2020 from Quique Setien. At that time, the president was still Josep Bartomeu, but he was replaced by Laporta in March 2021.
The relationship between Koeman and Laporta was strained from the start, the Dutchman lacked backing. Laporta could not bring himself to make a clear statement in favour of Koeman. “I admit that I was angry and hurt. I thought he lacked respect,” the Dutchman said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Sport in September 2021. In the same breath, however, Koeman also said he was grateful for the backing he had recently received.
But it did not last long, especially as the successes failed to materialise. A month later, Koeman was sacked. “Maybe we should have parted with Koeman earlier, I take responsibility for that,” was Laporta’s telling comment.
Looking back, Koeman now explained his view of things to the “Algemeen Dagblad”. “They didn’t give me the time they gave the new coach Xavi. It is still painful for me,” said the 58-year-old. He also blamed bad luck with injuries for the misery at the time. “Now Pedri and Ousmane Dembelé are back in form. You can see all that.”
And then there was the issue of Messi: at the insistence of the club’s management, Koeman had agreed to the departure of some players because of financial problems. “But then they bring in someone for 55 million euros just after they let Lionel Messi go. Then you ask yourself if something else didn’t happen. Why did Messi have to go? “
Which brings us to Laporta. “Every coach needs time and patience from the board. I would have liked these new signings as well.” Koeman was “not Laporta’s coach”, he said. “I had this feeling from the first moment, after the elections it didn’t click.” The necessary “support from above” was missing. It wasn’t the money that was important, he said, he simply wanted to succeed with Barça. “But I realised that Laporta wanted to get rid of me because I wasn’t appointed by him. “
Koeman avoids Camp Nou because of Laporta
Koeman’s next statement is also spicy. “Laporta told me a thousand times that Xavi would not be his coach because he lacks experience,” claimed Barcelona’s winning goal scorer in the 1992 European Champions Cup final. Just a few days after Koeman’s dismissal, however, Xavi’s return to Catalonia was already perfect.
Laporta, by the way, will not have to prepare for a direct confrontation any time soon. “They won’t see me at Camp Nou for a while, I can’t do that yet. With this president, I can’t pretend that nothing happened. “
