"If nothing goes wrong, Koeman will be the coach for the next season," Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona, announced on Tuesday in an interview with the club's television channel and in which journalists Santi Nolla (Mundo Deportivo ), Lluís Mascaró (Sport) and Ferran Correas (L'Esportiu). "And Koeman has told me on several occasions that the pillar of his project is Messi," he added, after specifying: "The time has come to say goodbye to some of these legendary players who have given so much greatness to Barcelona" . And he finished: “The duel for the defeat is over, this continues. Action. Many decisions have already been made after Lisbon ”.
Bartomeu does not stop making decisions as quickly as Ter Stegen conceded eight goals in a single Lisbon night, a reaction that explains the lethargy in which Barça has lived for a long time. The sports area has been as dynamited as the economic one in January: the dismissal of coach Quique Setién and the departure of technical secretary Eric Abidal make President Bartomeu a plenipotentiary after assuming the sports vice-presidency due to the resignation in July of last year of Jordi Mestre .
Although the crisis "is only sports, in no institutional case", the Barça president considered that "resigning now was the easiest thing to do, but it would also have been a very great irresponsibility when there are five weeks to go before LaLiga starts", which is why the board He decided to exhaust his mandate and call elections as of March 15, 2021. "We aspire to a good transition," he specified, a circumstance that requires balancing the accounts at a delicate moment due to the effect of the covid-19.
"Despite the fact that we will stop entering 320 million in the 2020-2021 season, we do not have a money problem but a wage bill," explained Barcelona's top president.
The club needs the October assembly to validate the closing of last year and the budget for the next to apply the crash plan that includes the remodeling of the squad, "as deep as necessary," warned Bartomeu. Players like Luis Suárez, Umtiti, Rakitic, Arturo Vidal appear on a list of possible casualties that does not rule out Jordi Alba and Busquets either.
"It was I who decided to give the opportunity to a golden generation that has given us many titles after what happened last year in Liverpool. Maybe it was time to start the renovation then, but I thought it was better for Valverde to continue. We did not do what we will do now. It is not an end of the cycle but a change of cycle in the Messi era ”.
The Barcelona president defended La Masia as the axis of the club while reiterating the need to evolve the style of Barça. "We need talent and we must also take one more turn, not only in physical preparation but also mentally; You play as you train, and I'm not saying you haven't trained until now ”, as if Abidal hinted after Valverde's dismissal.
The next coach will be from today who precisely in January ruled out replacing Txingurri: Ronald Koeman. The Dutchman will initially sign a two-season contract this Wednesday, the second conditional on the new president, who has come out of the 2021 elections.
Koeman will be able to leave the position of coach of the Netherlands after forcing his exit because the start date of the next European Championship is still unknown. Both parties signed in 2018 a contract until 2022 with a clause that allowed the coach to leave the selection only in the case of being called by Barça. The club, however, had to pay compensation close to five million, according to La Vanguardia. Koeman unlocked the dispute when he has taken charge of the price of his release and has lowered his salary to return to the Camp Nou today and lead Bartomeu's latest plan.