Ronald Koeman agrees to become next Barcelona manager after Quique Setien sacking

Ex-Dutch international and current manager of the Netherlands international senior team, Ronald Koeman, has agreed in principle to become the next Barcelona head coach after the club confirmed the sacking of Quique Setien.

Barca officials are in talks with the Dutch FA over required compensation, having made the Netherlands head coach the frontrunner to succeed Setien according to reports.

Setien was axed in a meeting with Barcelona’s technical director Eric Abidal just days after the humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Koeman, a Barcelona legend, is said to be the top candidate of president Josep Maria Bartomeu, and an announcement is imminent in the coming days.

A statement from Barcelona after Setien’s dismissal reads:

“This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days.”

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Barca, however, would have to pay compensation to get Koeman out of his current role as Netherlands head coach and bring him to the Camp Nou.

Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was a strong candidate and the preferred choice of director Ramon Planes. Both of them worked together at Espanyol.

But, the potential of appointing Pochettino was met with opposition from ‘El Entorno’ – a term coined by Johan Cruyff in 1992 to describe the ‘environment’ of influential media and fans surrounding the team.

Pochettino is also said to be highly interested in the Barcelona job despite distancing himself in the past because of his legacy with Espanyol.

He recently did an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais in which he tried to make amends for previous comments. Pochettino was a prominent player and then head coach at Espanyol.

Some members of the Barcelona board are also hopeful of convincing former player and club great Xavi Hernandes to return to the club. Xavi is currently in charge of the Qatari side Al Sadd.

Other names in the fray include former France manager Laurent Blanc, who is another ex-Barca player, and Barca B head coach Garcia Pimienta.

The club has also moved the date of the next presidential elections earlier than it should have taken place.  It will now go down on the first matchday after March 15, 2021.

Elections have normally taken place in the summer, usually in June, but they have resisted calls for an immediate ballot to be held, saying it is “not feasible”.

“After considering all options, the board considers this to be the most viable date for the aforementioned elections,” a statement read.

“The board understands that an immediate call for elections is not feasible, given that the league season will begin on the weekend of September 12, 2020, and the situation arising from the COVID-19 crisis – both economically and socially.

“Consequently, the club will continue to implement the plan to reverse the sporting and economic situation, based on profound changes to the first team, plus a redefined budget to deal with the new situation caused by COVID-19, before the end of the current mandate.”