Former Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has hit out at club’s president Joan Laporta for not giving him support during his tenure at Nou Camp.

Koeman was sacked as Barcelona coach in November 2021 after 14 months in charge after the club lost to Rayo Vallecano, leaving the Catalans ninth on the log. 

“They didn’t give me the time they gave the new coach, Xavi. It’s still painful for me,” he said.

“I was working with a lot of injuries. Now Pedri is back in shape, and Ousmane Dembélé … You can see everything.”

“Laporta told me a thousand times that Xavi would not be his coach, because he lacked experience. I was not Laporta’s coach. I had that feeling from the first moment, after the elections, there was no click. That necessary support from above was lacking.”

“The important thing was not money for me. I really wanted to succeed as a coach at Barcelona, ​​to do everything I could, but I realized that Laporta wanted to get rid of me because I wasn’t appointed by him.”

On Messi departure 

“It was at the insistence of the club management that I agreed to the departure of some players to put the finances in order. But then when you see that they attract someone for 55 million euros shortly after letting Lionel Messi go…Then you wonder if there wasn’t something else going on. Why did Messi have to leave?”

Club legend Xavi was subsequently appointed to replace Koeman.