Ronald Koeman’s future as Barcelona manager is looking bleaker by the day with the club reportedly having already chosen a possible replacement.
According to Sport, should Koeman be sacked, the club want Jordi Cruyff to take over at least until the end of the season. However, the son of the legendary Johan Cruyff has doubts about being in charge.
The report claims Barcelona already approached the Dutchman to see if he would be interested in becoming the next manager and has told the club that at the moment, he does not want the job.
Barcelona touted Jordi Cruyff’s versatility when they hired him
Perhaps Joan Laporta knew such an occasion would arise where they would have to fire Koeman and appoint a new manager. Given they were already hiring Cruyff to be part of their board, the thinking was he could also be their “break glass in case of emergency” and save themselves the trouble of spending more money on an outside hire.
His reluctance to take over stems from him believing Koeman is doing a decent job all things considered. He knows the situation Barcelona is enduring on the pitch and believes with time and players coming back from injury, the team will improve.
Cruyff isn’t the only person on their list as potential replacements though he was high on their list.
Former Barça B manager Oscar Garcia Pimienta has thrown his name into the mix following a couple of successful seasons with the ‘B’ team. He was let go prior to the start of the season but would be willing to return should the club reach out.
García Pimienta, former Barça B manager, would be delighted to listen to proposals from Barça despite having been fired recently. [@mariagarridos]
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 17, 2021
According to ESPN, Xavi Hernandez remains a candidate and is being pushed heavily by Laporta’s ex brother-in-law, Alejandro Echevarria. Cruyff himself has his own candidate in mind which is Belgium manager Roberto Martinez.
Money is apparently no longer standing in the way of Koeman being sacked. His contract runs out at the end of the season and it is unlikely he’s going to be offered an extension. At the moment, the problem appears to be whether or not Barcelona can find a proper replacement.