Ronald Koeman (former Barcelona coach): “Barcelona didn't give me the same time as Xavi. It is still painful for me. Laporta told me a thousand times that Xavi would not be his coach, because he lacked experience." [ad]
Koeman: “You 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.”
Koeman: “I was working with many injured people. Now Pedri is back in shape, and Ousmane Dembélé... You can see everything. Every coach needs time and patience from the board.”
Koeman: "It was at the insistence of the club's management that I agreed to the departure of some players to put the finances in order."
Koeman: "But then when you see that they attract someone for 55 million euros shortly after letting Lionel Messi go. It makes you wonder if something else wasn't happening. Why did Messi have to leave?”
Koeman: “I was not Laporta's coach. I had that feeling from the first moment, after the elections there was no click. There was a lack of the necessary support from above."
Koeman: "The important thing was not the money for me. I really wanted to succeed as a coach at Barcelona, to do everything I could, but I realized that Laporta wanted to get rid of me because I was not appointed by him.”
Koeman: "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."
Loading suggestions...