Barcelona president Joan Laporta has shed light on his relationship with manager Ronald Koeman after the Dutchman suggested all is not well.
Speaking ahead of the directors’ lunch on Tuesday, as relayed by SPORT, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted that his relationship with first-team manager Ronald Koeman is ‘fluid’.
Barcelona appointed Koeman as the manager at the onset of the last season when Josep Maria Bartomeu was still the president of the club. He was ousted by Laporta earlier this year, post which Koeman’s position had come under scrutiny, leading to friction between the pair.
And while they have repeatedly insisted that they have managed to smooth things over, it remains far from the truth. In a recent interview, Koeman lashed out at Laporta for some of his statements in the media as well as pointing fingers at him for leaking information about the contract negotiations between him and the club.
In the aftermath of those comments, Laporta has come out and said that he and Koeman share a ‘fluid’ relationship, insisting that while there may be an odd difference of opinion, both want what’s best for Barcelona at the end of the day.
There was a tense meeting between Koeman and Laporta after the match.
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— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) September 14, 2021
“Wishing Koeman luck is wishing myself luck, we’re in the same board, we want the same things,” said Laporta. “We can give our own opinions about different topics and we can agree or not, but the conversations are fluid. The relationship is good, there’s no need to look for anything else.”
Despite Laporta’s claims, his close aide, Lluis Carrasco recently hit out at Koeman. And as per latest reports coming out from Spain, the Barcelona president and manager had a tense meeting after the Catalans succumbed to a sorry 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League season opener at Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
While they might present a different stance, it is becoming quite evident that Laporta and Koeman do not see eye to eye on many things, which does not bode well for Barcelona, especially given the situation that they are in, with the financial troubles and everything.
If things continue the way they have been, a parting of ways could be imminent.
