Former Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman takes aim at the club and claims Xavi had an ‘easier’ job at the Spanish club… as the Netherlands boss insists the ‘quality of the squad’ was ‘different’ during his tenure.
- The Holland boss had strong words when talking about the Catalan outfit
- Koeman insisted Xavi had an ‘easier’ job after signing ’10-12′ new players
- He was relieved of his duties in 2021 and Xavi was appointed shortly after
Former Barcelona manager Ronaldo Koeman has hit out at the club and current boss Xavi after claiming the Spaniard had an “easier” time at the club.
The Catalan side are currently eight points clear at the top of the LaLiga table and look on course to secure their first league title since 2019.
However, despite their impressive domestic form, there is still criticism of Xavi and his management from Koeman, who has taken aim at the Spaniard’s recent success.
Speaking to Andy in de auto, Koeman said: “Barca are doing well. I saw the match against Madrid and they played amazing.
But, of course, if you sign 10-12 new players – it’s easier for Xavi. It depends on the quality of the team. During my time at Barca, that was different.”
Netherlands national team boss Ronaldo Koeman (L) revealed his thoughts on a recent podcast
Koeman claimed his predecessor Xavi (above) had an “easier” time at Barcelona.
Koeman was in charge of Barcelona for just over a year before being sacked from his position in October 2021.
The 59-year-old made a strong start to life at Camp Nou but, after becoming the first manager since 1936 to lose three consecutive Clasicos, he was eventually sacked.
Just a week later and Xavi – who was in charge of Saudi Arabia’s Al Sadd at the time – was appointed Barcelona head coach.
Since then, Xavi has overseen a total of 12 new signings from the Camp Nou doors, including Robert Lewandowski, Rafinha, Jules Conte and Ferran Torres.
In Koeman’s only season in charge, the Catalan side managed to secure third place. Under Xavi, they finished second last year and are top right now.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Dutch manager at Barcelona as he managed to clinch a Copa Del Rey title after beating Athletic Bilbao.
After more than a year out of charge, it was confirmed in January that Koeman had a new job as coach of the Netherlands national team.
The former Barcelona manager also recently claimed that new Liverpool signing Cody Gakpo had joined the club “too early” and that is the reason for his struggling form.
The Dutch coach was relieved of his duties at Barcelona after a string of poor results