Johannesburg – After failing to impress The Catalans for over the past 14 months, Ronald Koeman was shown the door by the club on Wednesday evening over the woeful season.
Barcelona suffered a 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano at Estadio de Vallecas stadium on Wednesday evenning, which placed Barca in the unusual ninth position of the La Liga table.
Koeman has been having an underwhelming spell as the Barcelona manager, and the club couldn’t bear the suffering for any longer after they confirmed that they have cut ties with the Dutch mentor.
The Camp Nou side revealed the news on Twitter stating that Koeman has left the club with “immediate effect”.
“FC Barcelona has relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first-team coach,” a club statement read.
The statement continued: “The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva.
FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the club and wishes him all the best in his professional career,” it read.
While the head coach position is vacant, former Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernández has been tipped as the next in-coming manager to take over the reins.
Xavi, who is rated as one of the best midfielders of all time, will be forced to relinquish his services with Qatar’s super league side, Al Sadd.
The 41-year-old has been hailed as the favourite to lead Barcelona, since last year.
According to credible sources from Spain, it is alleged that Laporta is keen to bring back Xavi who holds 505 appearances during his spell at Barca.
Barcelona had a poor start to the season, and this has led to the possibility of the team failing to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
The recalling of Hernández is chronicles of ‘desperate times, calls for desperate measures.
For the latest sports news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
