90min

Josep Maria Bartomeu Confirms Ronald Koeman Will Be New Barcelona Head Coach

By James Cormack

Ronald Koeman is expected to sign a two-year deal at Barcelona
Ronald Koeman is expected to sign a two-year deal at Barcelona / TF-Images/Getty Images
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Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed Ronald Koeman will be taking over as the club's new head coach.

Quique Setien was given his marching orders in the aftermath of the Catalan giants' 8-2 humiliation at the hands of a relentless Bayern Munich outfit in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last Friday.

Quique Setien was sacked after Barcelona's Champions League humiliation
Quique Setien was sacked after Barcelona's Champions League humiliation / Pool/Getty Images

The club are yet to officially announce the arrival of Koeman - who's expected to sign a contract until the summer of 2022 in Catalunya - but Bartomeu confirmed the Dutchman as Setien's successor in live interview with the club's official website (quoted by Marca).

"If nothing goes wrong, Koeman will be the Barcelona coach. We know well how he works, how he acts, his philosophy and his experience. We bet on him.

"He has been in Cruyff's 'Dream Team'. He was the first one we called in January. It's a dream for him," the Barça president said, with the club's hierarchy clearly believing the former Everton boss will continue to instil Cruyffian ideals at the Camp Nou.

A major talking point following the Bayern thumping has been the future of Lionel Messi, with reports in Spain suggesting the legendary great Argentine is ready to depart the club this summer.

Bartomeu, however, remains confident Messi will remain in Catalunya: "I have spoken with Koeman and the pillar of our project is Messi.

Reports of Lionel Messi's future surfaced following the Bayern humiliation
Reports of Lionel Messi's future surfaced following the Bayern humiliation / Pool/Getty Images

"He has a contract until 2021, I speak a lot with Leo and more regularly with his father. He is number 1 in the world. No doubt that in Koeman's new project you can count on Messi of all, all."

The Barça president admitted to errors over the past 12 months, but insists he won't be resigning from his post ahead of presidential elections next year.

"Resigning would have been the easiest thing. We have a sports crisis, it is not an institutional crisis. It is not a club crisis. It is just a sports crisis, which we must fix. The easiest thing would be to resign but I am not doing it because of my responsibility to the club."