Ronald Koeman said goodbye to his players this morning without knowing their future yet, at the expense of a meeting that he will have in the next few days with President Joan Laporta. The morning session this Sunday served so that the players collect their personal belongings from the box office, since they will not return to the Ciutat Esportiva for at least a month and a half. And that's for those who do not participate in different sporting events, such as the Eurocup, America's Cup and the Olympic Games, since the rest may not return until the beginning of August.
In any case, Koeman said goodbye to his men – they weren't all there since Pedri, Ansu Fati and Coutinho were missing, but Captain Leo Messi was there – with a laconic “I hope to see you here in July”, making it clear that he does not have them all with him, despite the fact that at the press conference he was more convinced that he will continue next season, assuring that “I don't think that against Eibar it will be my last game.”
It was a speech, which some assumed as almost farewell, where the Dutch coach reviewed the season and the many difficulties they had to go through along the way, as well as congratulating his staff for the effort made throughout the season. The coach, who took advantage of the moment when the players had finished having breakfast to gather them all in the dining room with the employees of the first team, did not give any clues about his future.
And it is that the Dutch technician, who has programmed return to training in the week of July 12-18, It has many open fronts, but the first, without a doubt, is to know from the president's mouth whether or not he is counted on. The fact that Laporta has aired publicly that a cycle has ended It would invite us to think that Koeman has few options to continue, although the impossibility of the club to face a millionaire compensation – there is talk of around 8 million – plays in Ronald's favor.
In fact, Koeman sent a message this morning after the game against Eibar through social networks, underlining that “We are on the way for Barça to be the team that it was”Not without first acknowledging that “we look back on a turbulent year in which a lot has happened at the club.” A message, in any case, that contrasts with some of his statements in the last press conferences, where he criticized Laporta and his board of directors because they had not supported him in recent weeks and the players because they do not have enough level to be in the Barcelona.
In any case, Some uncertainty and restlessness also reigned among the players at the farewell, more than one aware that he will enter fully into the profound renewal who is going to start the club. However, many of them have millionaire contracts and still for many years, so the negotiations are expected to be tough and complicated.