Pep Guardiola has reportedly made a strong recommendation to Joan Laporta on who should be the next Barcelona boss if Ronald Koeman were to depart from Camp Nou.<\/p>\n
Former Blaugranas boss Guardiola had allegedly told Joan Laporta when they recently met that he should reappoint Spain boss Luis Enrique to replace the Dutchman if the latter were to leave Camp Nou.\u00a0\u00a0There was plenty of speculation at the end of the season that Koeman would leave after overseeing a disappointing campaign.<\/p>\n
Barca ended up with their lowest finish since 2008, coming in third in La Liga and were also knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain at the last-16 stage, with an imperious Kylian Mbappe hat-trick in a particularly disappointing first leg defeat at the Camp Nou helping the French side win 4-1.<\/p>\n
The Blaugranas\u2019 1-1 draw at Parc des Princes was not enough to overturn such a huge deficit, despite Lionel Messi\u2019s stunning goal.<\/p>\n
Koeman has since been entrusted again with the task of overturning the club\u2019s form and is expected to be backed in the current transfer market after a prolonged period of indecision by Laporta and his board when they were unable to find an available manager with the right pedigree to replace the Dutchman.<\/p>\n
However, according to Spanish broadcaster TV3,\u00a0Guardiola recently met Barca president Laporta at a tournament in Mallorca.\u00a0The Manchester City boss reportedly turned down the offer to return to the club that he so successfully managed between 2008 and 2012.<\/p>\n
He then suggested that Laporta appoint Spain boss Enrique as Koeman\u2019s successor if the Dutchman exited.<\/p>\n
Enrique himself enjoyed success when he managed the Spanish giants between 2014 and 2017, with the 51-year-old winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League in 2015.<\/p>\n
That remains the last time that the Catalan club won Europe\u2019s top prize and Enrique now coaches the Spanish national team and has guided them to the quarter-final of Euro 2020.<\/p>\n
A sensational last-16 tie against Croatia ended with them winning 5-3 in extra-time.<\/p>\n
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