Ronald Koeman's future hangs in the balance as Barcelona board wants him sacked: Report

Barcelona started their La Liga season with two wins and three draws and considering the loss of Lionel Messi it was not a bad start. However, things did get worse as they got thrashed by Bayern Munich 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage on Tuesday. Based on reports by Catalan outfit TV3, members of the Barcelona board of directors, had a meeting chaired by club president Joan Laporta to discuss the future of Ronaldo Koeman at the helm as head coach. His current deal will expire in June 2022 and the club would have to pay a severance package and find a replacement if they decided to sack him.

Based on the reports, there is pressure on Laporta to sack Koeman. A few days back Laporta did say that he "likes Koeman." Reports in Sport suggest that the players were surprised by the Dutchman's tactical rigidity given that they were not working in the first half. Some reports also claimed that Koeman would not be sacked because of the severance package that would have to be given to him if they did decide to let him go. Koeman has a few relatively easy matches against Granada, Cadiz, Levante, and then Benfica so he will be hoping to win all of them because after that he will face Atletico Madrid, Valencia, and Real Madrid within a span of two weeks so his future could be decided in the coming month or two.

Barcelona refute Koeman getting sacked claims

Barcelona vice president Eduard Romeu has said that letting go Koeman has not been discussed and categorically denied that money would be an issue if the club did want to sack the Dutchman. Romeu said in a news conference as quoted by ESPN on Thursday when asked if Barca's financial problems prevented the club from removing Koeman.

"The political answer is it has not been discussed and the real one is that it is not a money problem."

"But there's nothing happening. There's nothing going on. Koeman's a good person. When the president and the board decide that he's staying on, the commitment (to him) and the support is total, knowing that we are going through a complicated moment in which we have to rebuild the team."

(Image: AP)