Everton manager Ronald Koeman was repeatedly linked to the Barcelona job before it became clear Ernesto Valverde would be getting the role.
Koeman wasn’t ever presented as the frontrunner, but his past with Barcelona was reason enough for the links to continue for several months, and the Everton manager himself encouraged them.
Torn between saying the right thing for an English, Everton, audience, and flirting a little with the idea of managing Barcelona, it was a difficult task for Koeman but there weren’t too many hiccups. Knowing that he wasn’t a frontrunner allowed the Dutchman to not get so involved in the chatter than it could be embarrassing, or cause problems back at Goodison Park.
Asked by Catalan newspaper Sport about his thoughts on Valverde, Koeman said all the right things about being optimistic for Barcelona’s future. On his own chances, Koeman was frank that there was never any call from Barcelona: “What I can say is that nobody from Barcelona contacted me to be coach.”That’s that then, until Valverde is turfed out or leaves in the next year or two.
