Getty New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman
New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman is due to start pre-season training on Monday with his new club but is already facing a nightmare start to the 2020-21 La Liga season
Captain Lionel Messi has stunned the football world by telling the Catalan giants he wants to quit the club. To make matter worse, the captain is not expected to turn up for pre-season training in a bid to push through an exit.
Yet Koeman also has plenty of other issues to deal with before the season starts on September 12 and will have to cope without some key players in the run-up to the big kick-off.
First-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been ruled out until November after undergoing knee surgery. Defenders Jean-Clair Todibo and Samuel Umtiti have tested positive for Covid-19 as well as new signing Miralem Pjanic.
Barcelona will also lose several players to international duty ahead of the start of the new La Liga season, disrupting their plans even further. Ansu Fati and Sergio Busquets have been called up by Spain, while Riqui Puig, Carles Alena, Pedri, Juan Miranda, and Inaki Pena are all in the Spain Under-21 squad.
New signing Francisco Trincao and Nelson Semedo are set to head off with the Portugal squad for fixtures against Croatia and Sweden, Frenkie de Jong is in the Netherlands squad, Martin Braithwaite with Denmark, while Antoine Griezmann and Clement Lenglet are part of the France team for fixtures with Sweden and Croatia.
All of which gives Koeman precious little time with his players to prepare for the new campaign. The Dutchman will be under pressure to get results too after the club finished the 2019-20 season empty-handed and will know patience is in scarce supply at the Camp Nou.
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Barcelona Rocked by Messi Bombshell
There’s no doubt that Barcelona have been plunged into a fresh crisis ahead of the new season due to their captain’s bombshell. Messi’s frustration at the club has been evident for some time but came to a head after a meeting with Koeman, according to Ole.
The Argentina international took particular exception to a comment from the new manager about what he was expecting from his captain.
“Your privileges in the squad are over, you have to do everything for the team. I’m going to be inflexible, you have to think about the team.”
Barcelona have been over-reliant on Messi in recent seasons for inspiration. The 33-year-old finished last season top of the goals and assists charts in La Liga, but the club may now have to find a way to cope without their greatest ever player.
Koeman Busy Making Changes
Meanwhile, Koeman is also preparing to say goodbye to some other experienced Barcelona players. The Dutchman has already told striker Luis Suarez that he is not in his plans for next season.
Suarez is likely to be followed out of the Camp Nou exit door by Junior Firpo, Samuel Umtiti, Ivan Rakitic, and Arturo Vidal. All four players have also been informed they are not needed by the new boss.
Koeman has also been thinking tactically. The 57-year-old is planning on using a double pivot system next season. The new tactics could see Frenkie de Jong handed a more influential role in midfield and see Barca switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
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