Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu announced Tuesday that Ronald Koeman will be the new coach and will build his team in the presence of Lionel Messi.
Koeman - who is respected by Barcelona fans for leading the club to his first European titles as a player - is expected to lead the rebuilding of the club after the humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday.
🔊 @jmbartomeu: “If nothing happens, Koeman will be Barcelona's coach for next season. We know his footballing philosophy and thinking” pic.twitter.com/3UCghCuQyr
- FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) August 18, 2020
"We will announce that Koeman will be our next coach, and he will lead this team and these players to move forward with a different project led by a coach that Barcelona fans know," Bartomeu said in an interview with the club's official TV station.
Koeman's appointment will be the third phase of the club's restructuring, which began with coach Quique Setien sacked on Monday and continued on Tuesday after sporting director Eric Abidal agreed to terminate his contract.
Agreement to terminate the contract of Technical Secretary Eric Abidal by mutual consent between the two parties. pic.twitter.com/VaZnbZGqLR
- FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) August 18, 2020
Koeman, 57, arrived in Barcelona today after spending the morning at the Dutch Football Association headquarters to negotiate the termination of his contract with his country, which he has led since 2018 and contributed to his qualification for the European Championship 2020.
🔵🔴 Ú IM T T Ú f f f
Ronald Koeman YA ESTÁ en Barcelona.
🕒 Acaba de aterrizar en el aeropuerto de El Prat.
📍 Trabajadores del club le han recogido.
📲 Se espera anuncio oficial en las próximas horas. pic.twitter.com/mlMD03YLtZ
- Radio MARCA (@RadioMARCA) August 18, 2020
Barcelona fans remember Coman fondly for the role he played in Johan Cruyff's hugely successful "Dream Team" and for scoring the only goal against Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup Final.
The Dutch defender later became an assistant coach in Barcelona before starting an eventful career as a coach, having previously coached Ajax, Eindhoven and Feyenoord in the Netherlands, as well as Southampton and Everton in the Premier League and Valencia in the Spanish League.
Bartomeu added, "We are betting on him because we know him well, and we know how he thinks and how the clubs he coaches play, but also because of his experience and because he was part of the dream team with Johan, as he knows Barcelona and understands the way the team plays."
🤩 # Thursdays_of memories with one of the legendary masterpieces in #Nights of the Champions 🏆
🔜 # BarçaBayern
🏆 @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/4IjDq39Jvg
- FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) August 13, 2020
Bartomeu indicated that captain Messi will not leave the club, and he will be part of the team under Coman.
The president of the Catalan club added, "Messi wants to end his career in Barcelona, and he said that several times before. I spoke with Coman about him, and he told me that Messi would be a main pillar in his project."
He said, "Messi has a contract until 2021, I talk to him and his father regularly, and they know that we have a strong project and that the new coach will come and depend on him."
Bartomeu - who announced yesterday that the club's presidential elections will be held in March 2021, that is, 3 months before its scheduled date - defended his management of the club, after he faced calls to resign after the defeat by Bayern.
He added, "We suffer from a sporting crisis, but not an institutional one. We suffered a very negative result in the Champions League, but the club is in a good position, both socially and financially."