Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa is on Barcelona’s list of targets should they sack Ronald Koeman as expected.
The Catalan giants are seemingly working on getting Koeman out of the club, with his relationship with president Joan Laporta fractious, to say the least.
The Barcelona president has been regularly commenting on his manager over the past few weeks, while his friends in the media have also been ramping up the pressure on the Dutchman.
This has been done via numerous articles about his style of play, performances, and even questionable pieces on his health which have since been proven to be false.
All of it appears to be coming from the club, Laporta never wanted Koeman in the first place but inherited him from his predecessor and is now clearly keen to get rid and put his own man in charge.
A list of replacements has been floating around for the past few weeks, and the latest to be added to it is Leeds boss Bielsa.
Cuatro report that Laporta is ‘quietly working’ on a list of coaches to replace Koeman, and Bielsa was already on Barcelona’s list years ago.
His idea is to stay with Leeds and continue their path in the Premier League, but ‘if the offer is good’, there is a feeling that could change his stance.
The website say ‘you never know’ which path El Loco could take in that scenario, suggesting a good financial offer may sway his thinking and lure him to the Camp Nou.
That, though, seems unlikely. Bielsa has never been one to chase the money but prefers the emotion and connection he can feel with a club, and its owners, something that’s very much there at Leeds.
Furthermore, it’s hard to see him ever working with a self-interested president like Laporta, who he knows would throw him under the bus the second things started to go slightly awry.
Given he’s happy at Elland Road, holds iconic status with the fans and is similarly revered at board level, it’s hard to imagine him wanting to change soon, particularly for the mess that is Barcelona.
Instead, we’re going to put this rumour down to Barcelona media working in Laporta’s favour again and offering up a list of candidates they know the fans will lap up with glee.
