Koeman reacts after Messi's calls for unity at Barcelona

Ronald Koeman doubts he will ‘have a quiet life’ anytime soon after Lionel Messi called for unity at Barcelona.

A period full of anguish and severed relationships suffered another blow when Messi openly criticized the Barcelona board for selling Luis Suarez to a direct rival in Atletico Madrid.

The 33-year-old, however, buried the hatchet on Tuesday to preserve the club’s interests. He apologized to the supporters for his actions, vowed to continue giving his all on the pitch, and called for unity at Camp Nou.

“I don’t know if after Leo’s quotes I am going to have a quiet life,” said Koeman in response to Messi’s comments in a press conference on Wednesday.

“I don’t think so because always there’s something here but it is very positive the captain asks for unity, I hope we all are more calm in respect of what we experienced in the last weeks.”

Messi was on target to help Barcelona defeat Villarreal 4-0 in their LaLiga opener last Sunday. It was also Koeman’s competitive debut as head coach.

Quizzed on how he plans to keep the skipper content for this season, the Dutchman conceded: “I don’t know if it is entirely in my hands.

As a coach I think we must find the best possible team to help him to shine, finding a position where he can produce his best performance as he always did for this club.

“We are looking for a formula in the training sessions, he lives for football and wants to win it all, even the games in the training session, he does everything for trying to win and there’s no other medicine for making him happy.”