Ronald Koeman: Leaving Barça was a bit of a liberation

Ronald Koeman appeared on TV3 and spoke about his exit from Barcelona and his relationship with Joan Laporta.

“The dressing room was never against me,” he said. “For me the problem started when the president changed. 

“As a president you can always have your doubts about the coach, but not publicly. That was a big mistake from Laporta.”

He also said he felt free after leaving. “It’s been a bit of a liberation to be free of being coach of Barça,” said Koeman.

On the Vaques Sagrades show, he also said he had doubts about signing Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski.

“Lewnadowski is a great player, a scorer, at Bayern he scored 25-30 goals in recent years, but he has a certain age, is he 35? I have my doubts over paying 50 or 60 million for a player, as well as the salary, which will not be small. He might have two years left in him. There are many doubts over whether to sign him or not.” 

Koeman also was asked about Frenkie de Jong’s future.

“The only thing I know is that Frenkie wants to stay at Barça. A couple of days ago he told me that he wanted to stay. What I don’t know is if Barça want to sell him or they need money, because he’s one of the few players they can get a decent amount for. For me, De Jong is a great player for Barça.”