The legendary Dutchman is presently in charge of the Netherlands and has snubbed advances from Camp Nou, however he hopes to head back there at some stage.
Ronald Koeman is hoping to one day be in a role to take the managerial reins at
Barcelona , however admits the timing of opportunities to head back to Camp Nou have no longer been right up till this point.
The Dutchman is nonetheless held in the highest regard from his playing days in Catalunya.
A reunion with the Blaugrana has been mooted for some time, however no deal has ever been done.
Koeman was approached again when Barca took the choice to part with Ernesto Valverde in January, however the 56-year-old is presently tied to a deal with the Netherlands national side.
“They called me and I stated no due to the fact of the commitment I have with my national team,” Koeman told Marca.
There is a break clause in his contract with the Oranje that will enable him to link up with Barca , however that can only be triggered once a European Championship campaign is completed.
With Euro 2020 having been pushed back 12 months by UEFA, Koeman will be going nowhere for the foreseeable future.
He is keen to point out that he has not snubbed advances from the Liga giants for any different reason, with it nevertheless his intention to head back to familiar environment at some stage.
“I don’t suppose it was a bad time,” Koeman added on Barca’s most latest efforts to secure his services.
“What occurred is that I have my motives with the Netherlands.
“Barcelona can always win huge things, they have very good players, they have options to sign the fine players… If I’d have been out of a job then sure, everybody likes Barcelona.
“It doesn’t depend what state of affairs they’re in. I had my best spell as a player there, at Barcelona, and I have plenty of love for the city. So, let’s hope that I can coach Barcelona one day.”
Having missed out on Koeman, Barca ended up passing their coaching baton to Quique Setien.
Questions are already being asked of his suitability to the most demanding of posts , with there obvious problems that need to be addressed by the reigning Spanish champions.
Koeman stated when requested to give his take on the Blaugrana in 2019-20: “That amount of possession isn’t applicable if you only create two or three chances.
“Playing against Napoli away from home [in the Champions League ] is difficult due to the fact they got a lot of people in the back of the ball and it is challenging to open them up and create chances. A team needs, above all, a quick player.
“Look at the quantity of problems Vinicius [Junior] brought on Barcelona [against Real Madrid ]. At the moment, they do not have a good deal depth and they need someone with a right touch.
“In midfield, they have players with the equal kind of characteristics. I noticed Ansu Fati doing very nicely due to the fact of his pace and they want a player like him because the others play to receive the ball.”
Barca sit top of La Liga after seeing competitive soccer shut down throughout the coronavirus outbreak, whilst they additionally stay in contention for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
