The keys to Koeman's departure from FC Barcelona 1:12
(CNN Spanish) -
Sergi Barjuan will take the reins of Barcelona as interim coach, the club announced on Wednesday.
"FC Barcelona informs that Sergi Barjuan, current Barça B coach, will provisionally take over the technical direction of the first team. The interim position on the first team bench will close as soon as the Club closes the hiring of a new coach following the removal of Ronald Koeman, "the statement said.
Xavi Hernández and Roberto Martínez sound like favorites to replace Koeman at Barcelona
A run of poor results, the crisis of a rebuilding team and the blow from "Tigre" Falcao García consummated the departure of Barcelona's technical director Ronald Koeman.
The culé team, in its first season without Lionel Messi in two decades, is ninth in Spain's LaLiga and third in its Champions League group, at risk of being eliminated.
The departure of Koeman was for many a postponed event, especially after the defeat against Real Madrid in the Classical and the defeat suffered by Bayern in the Champions League.
Xavi Hernández and Roberto Martínez are the favorites to replace Ronald Koeman as Barcelona coach, according to local media reports.
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The keys to Ronald Koeman's departure as FC Barcelona coach
Hernández, a former Barcelona midfielder, is currently in charge of Al Sadd in Qatar, while Martínez is the coach of the Belgium team.
Xavi extended his stay at the head of Al-Sadd for two more years in May after having rejected the possibility of training the Catalans in January 2020 after the dismissal of Ernesto Valverde.
The former midfielder joined the Qatar squad as a player in 2015 after 17 trophy-filled years with Barça.
He became head coach after hanging up his boots in 2019 and led the team to the national league title in April, without a loss.
Martínez has been in charge of the Belgium national team since August 2016. Despite staying at number one in the FIFA rankings for three years, the former Everton and Wigan manager and his 'golden generation' have failed to lift no trophy.