Barcelona president Joan Laporta has admitted he perhaps should have sacked Ronald Koeman sooner.
Koeman was sacked by Barca on Wednesday night following the club’s latest setback, a 1-0 away defeat to Rayo Vallecano.
That defeat made it back-to-back losses following a Clásico defeat to Real Madrid at Camp Nou.
And it proved too much for Laporta, who had stood by Koeman’s side even during disastrous runs of form earlier in the season and a title collapse last term.
Many fans wanted Koeman gone weeks – if not months – ago, but Laporta remained patient.
And in an interview published on Mundo Deportivo, the Barca president has explained his thinking, admitting he could have made the decision earlier than he did.
“Possibly, yes,” he admitted. “It’s easier to analyse it afterwards. It’s the same if I would have decided before, but we understand that Koeman deserved a margin of confidence.
“It was a way of motivating the coach and the team.
“Possibly, we had to have decided it before and I assume responsibility over this decision.
“The situation was unsustainable. We have come into a dangerous drift in which we could fall out of everything.”
That dangerous drift has seen Barcelona fall onto the brink in their Champions League group following defeats to Bayern and Benfica, and they will have to beat Dynamo Kyiv for a second time next week if they are to stand a chance.
Meanwhile, the Blaugrana are ninth in La Liga and already falling away from the title race following slip-up after slip-up under Koeman.
