Ronald Koeman deserves to keep Barcelona job, insists Rivaldo

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:39 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona legend Rivaldo believes Ronald Koeman has done enough to keep his job as head coach beyond the summer.

Following the disappointing tenure of Quique Setien which saw Barcelona fail to win a trophy for the first time in 12 years in the 2019/20 campaign, Koeman was brought in to steady the ship.

READ MORE: Could Aguero’s arrival convince Messi to stay at Barcelona?

The club were not expected to mount a serious title challenge in 2020/21 but they have done so, though this has partly been due to the inconsistent form of rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

Now, though, they require a miracle to win the league as they are four points behind Atletico and two points behind Real Madrid with two games remaining, meaning they would need to win their two remaining games and hope both of the other challengers capitulate massively.

Despite La Liga basically being over, and the early exit from the Champions League, Rivaldo reckons Koeman should be kept on for next season.

“I think we should also take the positives from this season in which no one seemed to believe in Barca’s chances of winning La Liga thanks to a phase of turbulence at the club that led to a new president, new coach, etc,” he told Betfair.

“Despite this late slump at La Liga that might be crucial for title purposes, Barcelona ended up winning Copa del Rey and having a nice performance at the second half of the season when Ronald Koeman found a better tactical system of 3-5-2.

“In a very tough season for the club with many options in the squad and even at the presidency, the Dutch manager produced some solid work.

“Bring through some young talents while keeping the team competitive, so, I consider he deserves the confidence of Juan Laporta for next season.

“Next season with all the previous mess settled, Barcelona should have conditions to stabilise and fight for all the trophies with Koeman in charge.

Koeman plus Messi plus Aguero?

One major cloud having over the entire campaign for Barcelona has been the uncertain future of Lionel Messi.

The club legend asked to leave last summer only for his request to be denied, with him subsequently playing out the last year of his contract at Camp Nou.

His current deal runs out next month when he will become available to talk to other clubs about a free transfer, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City two of the clubs most heavily linked.

If Messi agrees to stay, Rivaldo believes Koeman will benefit from having a more settled atmosphere at the club , and thinks the potential acquisition of Sergio Aguero could help too.

“With the possibility of signing Sergio Aguero and keeping Lionel Messi at the club, I’m sure that Barcelona might quickly get back to where they belong – becoming a fearsome team capable of beating any club and winning every title,” the Brazilian added.