The Dutch manager’s future at the Nou Camp is hanging in the balance after Barca’s struggling start to the new season.
There is no hiding that Barcelona are experiencing one of the worst periods in their history in terms of their financial state and the performances on the pitch.
The departures of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann in the summer transfer has been deemed as the final nail in the coffin for Barca, who are currently looking as incompetent at both domestic and European level.
When it comes to the managerial side, Ronald Koeman looked decent in his debut season at the Nou Camp, but he is now giving the impression of another run of the mill manager who is not tailor-made to coach the Catalan club.
When Joan Laporta was elected as the new president of Barca, we saw him gush about a young and talented manager like Julian Nagelsmann, which implied that Koeman wasn’t his ideal choice.
However, given the club’s financial crisis and the fact that Koeman had just completed only one season at Barca, Laporta decided to stick with the Dutch manager.
Laporta reportedly had a meeting with Koeman before the start of the new season and discussed the possibility of his sacking if a successor wasn’t found in due time.
As it turned out, with Nagelsmann joining the Bayern Munich and Xavi – the sought-figure by the fans – wasn’t on his wishlist, Laporta gave the nod to Koeman to continue as the Blaugrana gaffer.
However, not more than 2 months into the new season, Laporta is reportedly on the lookout for a new manager who can replace Koeman at once.
The lack of improvement could be a reason as Barca suffered a sounding defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and their start to the La Liga hasn’t been good either – 2 draws and 2 wins in 4 games.
The Blaugrana would have to pay around 12m euros should they part ways with Koeman before his contract ends – it would add more woes to a financially crumbling Barca side.
Roberto Martinez, Erik Ten Hag and Xavi are some of the names considered by Barca as the alternatives for Koeman.
