BARCELONA – Ronald Koeman trusts in the continuity of Lionel Messi in Barcelona but does not dare to predict whether the Argentine star will end up renewing his contract.
The Dutch coach, in an interview with The Athletic before his contract case broke out, referred to the footballer, with whom he maintains “a great professional relationship”, and took for granted his desire to end his career at the club azulgrana.
He recalled his first contact, after his arrival at Barça, explaining that it was a “difficult moment because he was angry about certain situations at the club and it happened after 8-2 in the Champions League against Bayern … He was pissed off and wanted to leave. Lo The first thing I told the club is that it was not my problem, that it was between Messi and the club and that they had to solve it. In the end, the club told me “we are not going to transfer him. He has to stay.” It was difficult for Leo, but in the end he accepted. “
“I was at his house,” he revealed, “to talk about the plans I had with him and I saw him excited … I told him that I was on the sidelines and that I would be really happy if he stayed. ‘If you don’t stay, it’s your decision and you will have to deal with the club. If you stay, you will be part of the team and this will be your position so that you can give the best of yourself, ‘I said … And little by little he accepted the situation. Now he is really involved with the club and with the team, but nobody knows what will happen in the future. “
Of that future Koeman prefers not to make predictions. He does not want to bet on the continuity of the Argentine. “I don’t trust him. I’m hopeful because he’s still a great player and he continues to win games for us. I’m enjoying being his coach and now I don’t know … He came to Barcelona as a kid and I don’t see Messi wearing another shirt that it is not the one of the Barça but I do not know what will happen “.
What stood out especially the Barcelona technician was his good harmony with Messi. “I have not had any problems with him,” he said, recalling that Leo “is the captain of the team, we talk about tactical issues and I have a great professional relationship with him, as with everyone, although he is the captain and we must talk more.”
Koeman acknowledged that “decision making is important in his work. When we arrived we had our opinions and our information from outside. But you have to make those decisions. If it goes well, everything is fine, but if it doesn’t go so well, it has to be me. way and that is important to know. We are changing and of course, it would have been better if Suárez had signed for Juventus than for Atlético, because he is still in LaLiga. But we had to make that kind of decision. It was a tough decision, but always showing I respect the player and I think that’s the important thing. To this day, I still agree with what I did at that time. “
Regarding the team’s game, he revealed that his intention is always to “play football well. It’s what we all hope for: good possessions, attacking players, fast transitions to recover the ball and create opportunities to score and mix the best with several of the youngsters. It’s the way to win here “, and he was confident in continuing with the philosophy implemented by Cruyff.
“It’s what I hope. I played with him as a coach and he changed the club, starting with the way he played. With Lineker and Hughes it was a 4-4-2 but Cruyff turned it into a 4-3-3 with attack and pressure football and that is the way we like the players to evolve. If we sign someone, they have to succeed playing this way, “he said.
He also expressed himself with transcendence about the presidential elections, proclaiming that “we need a president to build the future of the club. The most difficult thing for me, as a coach, is that there is no president, there is no number 1 who makes the decisions. All these kinds of decisions are made by the Management Board and it is more difficult. Right now, you have no one to talk to about how we can continue. The club needs a president as soon as possible. “
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