Frenkie De Jong asks Barcelona not to sack Koeman

Carlo Garganese

• 30 May 2021 19:56 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong has publicly declared his wish that the club does not sack under-fire coach Ronald Koeman this summer.

Koeman’s position as manager is precarious after a disappointing first season in charge at Camp Nou.

Although Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, they fell well short in the two major competitions of La Liga and the Champions League.

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A terrible end to the season saw Barca finish third in the league, while they were thrashed by PSG in the last-16 of the Champions League.

Koeman’s future at Barcelona was further questioned when the club’s president Joan Laporta last week appeared to question the Dutchman’s health, in reference to the coach having a heart attack last year.

This prompted Koeman to reply assuring everyone he was perfectly healthy.

Will Koeman leave Barcelona this summer?

One person who hopes Koeman stays, however, is Barcelona midfielder De Jong.

“A lot is being written now. I haven’t had any contact with people from the club now, nor with Koeman, so I don’t know what’s going on. What I hear, you hear too. I’ll wait,” De Jong told Nu.nl.

“I don’t know if that’s true that Koeman will leave. I can’t judge that. All I can say is that I have a good relationship with Koeman. For me he is a good coach. So I hope he stays.

“Barcelona is, of course, one of the biggest clubs in the world. If you don’t become champions, there’s always nagging. So in that sense it doesn’t surprise me that there is speculation.”