Ronald Koeman to remain as Barcelona boss after talks with Joan Laporta

Martin Macdonald

Updated: 12 Aug 2021 13:55 BST
3 min read

Ronald Koeman to remain as Barcelona boss after talks with Joan Laporta — © ProShots

Ronald Koeman is set to remain as Barcelona boss for the moment after a meeting with president Joan Laporta on Tuesday evening.

Following the tenure of Quique Setien which saw Barca fail to win a trophy for the first time in 12 years in the 2019/20 campaign, the Dutchman was brought in to steady the ship at Camp Nou.

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Due to the financial constraints caused by the pandemic, veteran names like Ivan Rakitic and, crucially, Luis Suarez were told to leave, while the only meaningful acquisition was Sergino Dest, with the deal for Miralem Pjanic having already been agreed before the summer.

Barcelona may have won the Copa del Rey in 2020/21, but the season has undoubtedly been a failure again as they finished third in La Liga and were eliminated at the round of 16 stage in the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.

The campaign has also had the looming cloud of Lionel Messi’s potential exit, as the Argentine is out of contract next month when he will be available to leave for free.

Due to Koeman’s performance and the performance of the team as a whole, the Dutchman’s future has been called into question, with former player Xavi reportedly being lined up as his replacement.

© ProShots - Xavi has been linked with the Barcelona job

However, Koeman’s agent Rob Jansen has revealed that his client might not only stay beyond this summer, but next summer too.

“The feeling is positive. It’s even that good that Ronald might even stay longer (than 2021/22). But we are not this far yet, more conversations will follow”, he told De Telegraaf.

What happened at the meeting?

Koeman and Jansen arrived to the meeting on Tuesday evening with president Laporta in attendance as well as directors Mateu Alemany and Rafael Yuste.

There was not believed to be any ill-feeling on the night as everyone laid out their potential plans moving forward, and it would appear for now that Barcelona’s fans still involve Koeman.

However, crucially, Koeman was not given 100% assurances on his future.

The Barca boss has recently lamented the club’s lack of activity in the transfer market in his tenure due to the fact they are in major financial difficulties.

However, they hope to complete the free transfer signings of Sergio Aguero, Gini Wijnaldum, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia in the summer transfer window.