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Koeman's Barcelona move off due to Euro 2020 being pushed back

Ronald Koeman has confirmed that he'll remain in charge of the Netherlands until the delayed Euro...



Koeman's Barcelona move off du...
Soccer

Koeman's Barcelona move off due to Euro 2020 being pushed back

Ronald Koeman has confirmed that he'll remain in charge of the Netherlands until the delayed European Championship in 2021. 

The former Southampton and Everton boss was expected to succeed Quique Setien in the Camp Nou hot seat this summer, with a clause in place in his contract allowing him to take over the Spanish champions.

Setien's deal at Barcelona has a break clause this summer and the ex Real Betis coach has had a mixed start to his tenure, the Catalans suffered a first league defeat to Real Madrid since 2016 and Leo Messi failed to score in six of their last seven matches before COVID-19 halted the season.

Barca approached Koeman after they sacked Ernesto Valverde in January but he opted to remain with Holland while leaving the door open to take over ahead of the 2021 season.

But the postponement of Euro 2020 means that the 1992 European Cup winner can't now become manager at his former club until next year.

"The clause in my contract to go to Barcelona is for after the European Championship," he told De Telegraaf.

"No date has been mentioned, so now it's after the European Championship in 2021. I haven't thought about it for a second.

Koeman has also been speaking about Frenkie de Jong's adapting to a more advanced role in midfield since leaving Ajax for Barcelona:

“De Jong plays a lot at Barca and that is positive, but he is playing in a different position than he is used to. But that is the decision of the coach.

“He’s very young, and from playing games, you learn a lot of things. But I think he plays differently with me in the national team.”

 

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