After a very public disagreement, Joan Laporta reacted to the criticism made against him by Ronald Koeman earlier during the week.
From the first moment he arrived as the new FC Barcelona president, it was clear that Joan Laporta didn’t see eye to eye with Ronald Koeman. If the Dutch manager hadn’t won the Copa del Rey, there is no chance he would have remained at the club for a second season. But the trophy did come and results are the norm at a giant club like Barça. In terms of style, Laporta is obviously keen on other managers but continuity is also very important for him. As long as the results are positive, the Dutch manager can get away with some public statements.
In recent days, the gaffer basically stated that he saved FC Barcelona from total failure last season and pointed directly at Laporta. Obviously, he is pushing for a contract extension but he is not going about it in the best possible way. The reason Laporta is letting this slide is simply that he doesn’t have the money to pay the manager out of his contract. May believed that after his recent statements, Koeman was probably getting sacked. But things are turning out very differently from what everybody expected.
Laporta extends an olive branch to Koeman.
As per Marca, Joan Laporta addressed their public disagreements in a strange fashion: “I have gone to see the training, I have greeted [Koeman], I have given him encouragement. We have a difficult game against a great team, but [Koeman] seems confident. [Bayern] are a great team, who play against us at a time when we still have some players [who are] recovering [from injuries].
“I get along very well with Koeman, he is a person that I like and I have all my trust placed in him. I give him all my support and he has all my respect. Wishing Koeman luck is the same as wishing good luck to myself. We are in the same boat and we agree on the model we are building. There is no divergence beyond our opinion on a certain issue.”
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