Joan Laporta and other key Barcelona officials dashed right into an emergency meeting after the Benfica loss until 4am in the wake of Wednesday night’s humbling by Benfica in the Champions League to discuss the imminent possibility of sacking heavily-beleaguered coach Ronald Koeman.
Regardless of whether the deplorable circumstances encircling him are caused by him or not, pressure has been building on Koeman all season and the 3-0 defeat in Lisbon was only the latest in a string of dismal results on the pitch. According to SPORT, Koeman’s time has run out – that his ‘credit is exhausted’ – and several board members held an emergency meeting immediately upon returning from Lisbon.
Reportedly, president Laporta, who has been pleading with fans to stick with Barça and exercise patience, made a beeline for the club’s base at Ciutat Esportiva along with vice-president Rafa Yuste, football director Mateu Alemany and adviser Enric Masip and the meeting was said to have lasted until 4am, with the subject of discussion being whether Koeman would still be Barcelona coach by the weekend when the team visits Atletico Madrid.
It is still unclear at this point in time whether a firm decision about his future has been reached.
Parallel to this development, some Barcelona players including Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets are reported to have defended Koeman, speaking to the press immediately after the Champions League defeat, with the former claiming a change in coach ‘won’t solve anything’.
Apparently Koeman’s dismissal could see Barca legend Xavi taking over at the helm as the new boss. Current Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez is also another strong contender, besides Andrea Pirlo whom Laporta is also supposedly an admirer of.
On the negative side, sacking Koeman will cost already cash-strapped Barça, whose salary cap for this season was revealed this week to be €250m less than last season and just a fraction of Real Madrid’s.
Koeman is also believed to have paid his own buyout clause when he left his job as Netherlands national team coach in 2020, but would be entitled to have that €6m figure contractually refunded by the club if his contract is not extended into a third season until 2023.