Harassed by criticism after a defeat that Barcelona will not be able to take off their clothes in decades, Josep Maria Bartomeu resists entrenched in the Camp Nou. The Barça president decided a long time ago that he would end his term and not all of Bayern’s eight goals have changed his mind. Breaking his silence after Monday’s meeting, he made it clear that he will continue to lead the club: “We did not want to resign because the League starts in a few weeks and we need to plan the season. We need to close last year and some budgets. Leaving this way was irresponsible. It was the easiest thing to resign now, but you need people to make decisions “, he explained in an interview on Barça TV made by three representatives of Catalan sports newspapers.
Reconstruction to save Bartomeu’s last year in office will begin with the return of Ronald Koeman. The Dutch coach arrived in Barcelona yesterday from Amsterdam, where he negotiated with the Federation of the Netherlands the termination of his contract as coach. Bartomeu himself, who was negotiating until the last minute to be able to announce the signing yesterday, admitted: “If nothing happens, Koeman will be Barça’s coach. We bet on him because we know him and on his experience. He believes in the football style. In January we denied that we had spoken to him. Now we can explain it. He told us he had a responsibility with the Dutch national team. He could not leave the Netherlands without a coach a few months before the start of the European Championship. Now he has told us that the European Championship is far away, that we do not know what will happen, and that it was time to leave the national team project. Koeman has experience and a good work team, and we have professionals to make this change of football “, explained the president. Koeman will arrive accompanied by Alfred Schreuder, who was Ajax’s second coach last year, and former club player Henrik Larsson.
Barça will have to pay more than four million for Koeman, who is already in Barcelona
The official announcement, however, will be made today, as yesterday it was not possible to close negotiations with a Federation to which Barça will have to pay a termination clause, because the coach’s contract as coach of the Netherlands is extends until the summer of 2022. The clause would be between 4 and 5 million euros. “An agreement is final when the signatures are stamped on the contract, only then is one hundred percent sure. I can’t say anything, I would love to do it, but now is not a reasonable time “, explained Koeman before flying to Barcelona, without hiding that his destiny is to return to Barça, where he would sign a two-year contract with the possibility of renewal by a third party. Surely with a clause that would allow the president who wins the 2021 election to change coach if he deems it appropriate.
The Barça president also had words for Quique Setién: “I want to thank Quique Setién for daring to take over the team in January. We have to thank him, because he has done many good things. Surely the pandemic halt did not help him regain the pace of the first few months, “he said.
???? @jmbartomeu: “If nothing goes wrong, Koeman will be Barça’s coach next season. We know how he thinks and his philosophy” pic.twitter.com/x370BwjJ8d
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) August 18, 2020
Bartomeu, therefore, begins by making changes to the sidewalk before trying to turn the market around. New faces are needed to win titles and, by the way, prevent people from talking about their management. A policy that has led the club, even before the covid-19, to a situation of economic fragility. The pandemic has complicated everything, and Barça need to sell to sign. “We have lost 200 million, we will close the year with losses, as is obvious. We now need to present a loss-free budget. We have an important challenge which is the sporting situation, but especially to adapt the club to the crisis of the pandemic. If we called elections and a board of directors was established, a situation of misgovernment would have been established “, Bartomeu defended.
Players in the market and the future of Messi
The president made a list of players he considers non-transferable: “Messi is non-transferable. Well, and other footballers: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Lenglet, De Jong, Griezmann or Dembélé ”. He cited players like Semedo who can be sold but included in this list to prevent them from losing market value. And all this admitting that “from a distance, the time to make changes was after Anfield; Valverde did a great job, but a new impetus was needed in the team and that’s why the change of coach was made “.
Everyone could go, then, from Piqué to Busquets, from Jordi Alba to Luis Suárez. The need for changes in the first team is the main consequence of the structural crisis: “All the locker rooms have power. We have been lifting titles for 12 years. Now is the time to start firing the great footballers with all the honors. Griezmann is a good investment, I would not put it in the package of Dembélé or Coutinho. We have to accompany the players so that they surrender, and if not work in an exit. We still want to see the potential of Dembélé “he said. In fact, the only two truly untransferable names, Messi and Ter Stegen, who are still without renewal, could also leave. “Messi has said many times that he wants to retire in Barcelona. Koeman has told me he wants Messi to be the mainstay of the project. I talk regularly with him and a lot with his father. I haven’t spoken to him since the defeat against Bayern. They know we have a new project here. Now we’re all disappointed, but we’ll get excited later. Messi is frustrated, like everyone else. Now we have to be optimistic. We talked to Koeman about signings, upcoming players and departures. These are issues that we have talked about, but first we have to close his contract “, defended a president who cannot afford to lose Messi. In fact, these days he has spoken with the player’s father, Jorge, who neither confirms nor denies that the captain wants to leave, generating nerves in the board.
The importance of planning the group
Regarding Barça’s aspirations in the transfer market, Bartomeu wanted to show his heart, with nuances: “Ansu Fati will not come out. Last summer we tried to sign Neymar. Now with the current situation, his club does not want to sell him. “Great clubs don’t want to sell great footballers. Lautaro is a different subject. We were talking to Inter and we stopped negotiations for a few weeks because the competitions were coming back. Now we’ll wait for the coach to see how he plans for the season.” with the technical secretariat. Barça has money, that’s not the problem. The problem is the payroll. The covid-19 has reduced profits and, therefore, we have to reduce the payroll in order to bring in new players. “
The exit record will be one of the series in the offices of the Joan Gamper Sports City, which will give gallons to the players of the second team. “We have all the solutions on the table. I do not rule out the possibility of offering letters of freedom to manage staff casualties. It is clear that the subsidiary will have more prominence this season, because there are players who have earned a place in the “Camp Nou. And also because the clubs refuse to sell players because they don’t want their rivals to be able to strengthen. Footballers like Peña or Monchu will have a chance to join the team. La Masia is vital. We have not abandoned the model.” I think we need to strengthen this model, make certain evolutions. Football is becoming more and more physical, “he said.
???? @jmbartomeu: “Barça has a salary cap problem. There is money, but Covid-19 has caused revenues to fall and, therefore, we must reduce the wage bill in order to bring in new players” pic.twitter.com/wclIAoMldt
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) August 18, 2020
Bartomeu said that Coutinho and Ter Stegen are part of Barça’s immediate future plans. “Coutinho also has options to stay on the team. It is a decision of the technical secretariat and the coach. If he stays, he will play with us. Ter Stegen, very responsible, said months ago that we were in a pandemic situation, that we were stopping the renewal negotiations and that we would talk later. I have no doubt that he will continue at Barça “, he explained.
Finally, the president emphasized that the Espai Barça project remains a priority, despite being stopped by economic circumstances: “Barça’s future lies in a renovation of the Camp Nou. The club urgently needs it. This year’s numbers have not allowed us to start work. Advancing the elections will allow us to talk to the new Board to move the works forward from next summer. We are one of the last big clubs in Europe that does not have a new stadium. “
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