The coach of the Netherlands, Ronald Koeman, confirmed in a meeting with the press after the draw of the League of Nations that Last January, representatives of the Blaugrana club contacted him to lead the club and he refused “because I have a commitment to the selection of my country.”
Koeman has an escape clause with his selection to sign only for Barcelona, but it must be executed once the Eurocup of Nations finishes this summer. After the Spanish Super Cup played in Arabia, Barcelona representatives, with Éric Abidal and Òscar Grau at the head, went to Doha to try to convince Xavi Hernández, which declined the offer. Before the refusal they went to Koemana to see if they could advance the pre signing agreement, but the Dutch coach refused.
We must remember that Abidal, in an interview in Sport denied having offered the position to Xavi Hernández ensuring that it was only a contact. We will have to wait to see what the culé technical secretary says about the offer to Koeman.
Koeman was also asked about the role of Frenkie de Jong in Barcelona and stressed that “plays a lot in Barça, but he does it in a different position from the one he played in Ajax or in the National Team “.