Ronald Koeman hurt by constant speculation but determined to stay on at Barcelona

Ronald Koeman will put Barcelona first this summer according to Diario Sport. He believes that the people involved at the club are transient, but the club itself will live forever. He’s spoken of even retiring after leaving Barcelona, as he’ll never be able to match the experience of leading the club of his heart, as Pep Guardiola put it recently.

That’s not to say he’s delighted with recent events. Joan Laporta was always empathetic and enthusiastic whenever he visited Koeman at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, and backed the Dutchman in the early days of his presidency. The open rhetoric around finding a replacement for him runs counter to this, and Koeman is said to be irritated and annoyed by how it’s been conducted given it undermines his authority.

Koeman has been working with Ramon Planes these last few months to prepare the squad for next season, with Memphis Depay and Gini Wijnaldum said to be explicit requests of his. But at the same time, names of potential replacements are being bandied about in the media every day. Despite this, Koeman wants to stay on for the final year of his contract and do the job he set out to do when he came in last summer.

Tags Barcelona La Liga Ronald Koeman
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