Need to be able to control how we play and who I pick, asserts Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman has strongly implied that he must be the one in charge of deciding who gets to play in the starting XI and not the members of the board of the Spanish side. The Dutchman is on the verge of signing a new deal but insisted that the club president should not be able to decide who plays.
Ronald Koeman was announced as the new manager for Barcelona in August 2020 after Quique Setien was dismissed following a poor run of games at the Camp Nou and the Dutch manager signed a two-year contract. It saw Koeman take control of a decent debut season as he managed to win the Copa del Rey with the Blaugrana but they finished seven points behind league champions Atletico Madrid as Barcelona ended the 2020/21 season in third.
However, despite that Koeman is hopeful of continuing as Barcelona coach for years to come as reports indicate that the Spanish club will look to offer him an extension if the team meets their targets for the season. Barcelona are prepared to offer the 58-year-old a new contract before his current one expires, at the end of the current season, but rumours have surfaced that the president wants assurances that Riqui Puig will be given a role in the squad.
Club president Joan Laporta had clarified last week that Koeman would have all the power in sporting matters and the 57-year-old has gone on to reiterate the point in an interview.
"That was good to see. Before that, a couple of things came out that didn't point to support for the manager. That frustrated me, "Two and a half weeks ago, we had a discussion about a new contract. There were no leaks in the media of that discussion, until the president talked to journalists about the situation of the club last week, about finances and such,” Koeman told Algemeen Dagblad.
"At the end, he started talking about the contract discussion. A day later, newspapers reported: 'Koeman can sign a new contract if he follows three demands'. I responded and said: 'This can't happen'. I need to be able to control how we play and who I pick. Then the chairman came on Monday with that TV interview. That was a good thing,” he added.