Ronald Koeman's agency hit out at Barcelona on Twitter
By Tom Gott
The representatives of Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman have hit out against club president Joan Laporta for his continued reluctance to commit to the Dutchman for next season.
There have been countless rumours suggesting Laporta is ready to do away with Koeman this summer and, during a meeting between the two on Tuesday, the president did not hide the fact that they are looking to replace Koeman in the next few weeks.
Koeman was told that Barcelona would spend the next two weeks looking for a replacement, but if nobody could be found, only then would the Dutchman be allowed to keep his job - a harsh stance to take against the man who helped stabilise the club after the chaos that was last summer.
Laporta has left Koeman in limbo with his refusal to commit to him, and the boss' representatives, Wasserman, took to Twitter to voice their frustrations.
"Imagine: I want to marry you, but I have doubts," the post reads. "Give me two weeks to find a better partner...
"If I can’t find the right person, we will get married anyway!"
To complicate things even more, Friday brought us some weird mixed messages over Koeman's health. FOX Sports suggested the boss had been taken to hospital on Thursday after suffering an anxiety attack, and Laporta seemed to confirm that when speaking to the media on Friday.
"Ronald has a contract and that gives him peace of mind that he should not be rushed into a decision," Laporta said (via Marca). "We spoke calmly with him.
"He had an episode that took him to hospital and he routinely gets checked up. He gave us a scare, especially thinking that a year ago he had a heart attack. I told him to take it easy. We spoke with respect. We will sit down with Ronald next week and we will decide after outlining all the aspects."
However, Wasserman came out once more to claim that Laporta's words were 'overdone' and Koeman was simply in hospital for blood pressure checks as part of his long-term recovery from his heart attack. It's all a bit bizarre really.
Laporta has been repeatedly accused of disrespecting Koeman by publicly flirting with potential replacements, but the president was adamant that he has done nothing wrong.
"We have always acted with the utmost respect for Koeman," he said.
"We have admiration and respect for a professional who has a current contract. I have already told you what I had to say. Our relationship is direct and clear. We are evaluating everything, his professionalism, his behaviour, his way of watching football. We don't want to leave anything up in the air."