Ronald Koeman doesn’t rule out taking over as Barcelona manager

The Netherlands coach has long been linked with the job

Netherlands boss and former Barcelona player Ronald Koeman did not rule out the possibility of taking over for Ernesto Valverde as Barça manager. He was asked whether he would dismiss rumors linking him to the job, to which he replied, “that would be the easy thing to do, but I won’t do it,” according to EFE.

Koeman was speaking ahead of the Netherlands’ participation in the Nations League.

“I believe that this [press conference] is about the national team, and I would like to keep it that way,” he continued on to say.

Valverde remains Barcelona manager but is under massive pressure having bowed out in the UEFA Champions League in embarrassing fashion and lost the Copa del Rey final.

Koeman has been a contender for the Barcelona job for years, but has never landed it. The former player has a long history with the Catalan club, having played for them for 6 seasons in which he scored 67 league goals, a staggering total for a defender. Koeman also scored the only goal in Barcelona’s first European Cup final win, in 1-0 win over Sampdoria at Wembley.

He served as Barcelona’s assistant coach for Louis van Gaal in the late 90s, and has had a long career as first coach since. He coached Vitesse, Ajax, PSV, AZ, and Feyenoord in the Netherlands, Benfica in Portugal, Valencia in Spain, and Southampton and Everton in the Premier League before managing his home country.

Source: barcablaugranes.com