Laporta reveals gut-wrenching message to Koeman after becoming Barcelona president – “You are not the coach”

Joan Laporta’s return to the FC Barcelona presidency in 2021 was marked by several difficult decisions.

One of the most immediate challenges was addressing the managerial position, which was then occupied by club legend Ronald Koeman.

In a recent editorial preview of his new book, ‘This is how we have saved Barça’, revealed by Diario SPORT, Laporta has opened up about a brutally honest conversation he had with the Dutchman shortly after taking office.

What Laporta told Koeman

Despite acknowledging Koeman’s heroic status at the club, the president admitted he did not view him as the right man to lead his new sporting project.

“When I became president, Ronald came to see me with his agent, Jansen, and asked me: ‘Am I your coach?’” Laporta recalled in the excerpt.

“And I tell him: ‘Ronald, for me you are a legend; I cried at Wembley, but I have to tell you that you are not,’” he added.

Unsurprisingly, the former defender did not react positively to this gut-wrenching message. “He didn’t take it well at all,” Laporta admitted.

The club chief then detailed his initial plan, which involved hiring the current Barcelona manager. “What I plan to do,” Laporta added to Koeman, “is to decide the coach I want, which was Hansi Flick, but then he was coaching Germany and it couldn’t be.”

Due to Flick’s unavailability, Koeman was granted a temporary lifeline. Laporta told him: “If it can’t be him, it’s okay for you to continue.”

However, this arrangement was short-lived. A painful defeat to Rayo Vallecano in October ultimately led to Koeman’s dismissal and the subsequent arrival of Xavi Hernández, whom Laporta praised for bringing a new impetus to the sporting project during a time of maximum difficulty.

While the sacking undoubtedly strained their dynamic, Laporta confirmed that time has healed the wounds between the two figures.

“At that time, the relationship with Koeman was affected, but with the passage of time we have recomposed that relationship. Ronald is a great professional and a great person,” he concluded.