Barcelona president Joan Laporta held a press conference on Friday, covering multiple topics around the Catalan club.
One of the major issues is the future of manager Ronald Koeman, with it being apparent Barcelona are looking at other options, but keeping the Dutchman in place until they can secure somebody else.
That is obviously a very difficult situation for Koeman, should the situation be as has been described by multiple reports in the Spanish media.
When it came to talking about his manager, Laporta said Koeman had given him and others a ‘scare’ this week, after being hospitalised. the president referenced the heart issue the 58-year-old went through last year, and said: “Luckily he’s fine. I told him… calm down, we are speaking with absolute respect.”
That then saw claims in the Catalan media that Koeman had gone through some kind of anxiety attack.
De Telegraaf now seeks to rubbish nearly all of it, in words which don’t put Laporta in a good light. The Dutch newspaper states: ‘Ronald Koeman has not been hospitalised at all, as Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims during the lunchtime press conference. The Dutch trainer is in perfect health on the plane to the Netherlands because he is visiting family there for a few days after a long period in Spain.
‘What inspired Laporta to tell such a negative story about Koeman’s health is a mystery. It can only indicate his umpteenth action to further damage the trainer, who won the cup with his club this season.
‘Koeman has been in hospital, but that involved the regular check-ups that he has every three months since his heart catheterisation. It is only a small check that fits in with the aftercare of everyone who has had a myocardial infarction.’
De Telegraaf believe it’s clear there’s a ‘dirty war’ ongoing at Barcelona.
