Ronald Koeman: Barcelona sack head coach after Rayo Vallecano loss

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Koeman, the match-winner for Barcelona in the 1992 European Cup final, has struggled to succeed as head coach

After 14 months as Nou Camp's head coach, Ronald Koeman was fired from his position.

Barca has only 15 points from 10 La Liga games and have lost twice in this season's Champions League group stage.

After losing to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, they are now ninth in the table and six points behind the joint leaders.

This was Barca’s third loss in four games, and it came after Sunday's Clasico defeat to Real Madrid.

The Spanish club released a statement saying: "The president Joan Laporta informed him [Koeman] about the decision after Rayo Vallecano's defeat."

"Ronald Koeman will bid farewell to the squad on Thursday."

Former boss of Southampton, Everton, and Netherlands, 58, couldn't guide the five-time European champions past third in the league.

The club's financial woes have not helped the Dutchman, leading to Lionel Messi's departure and subsequent move from Paris St-Germain to take his place.

Barcelona could not afford to sign any new players in the summer. Eric Garcia, Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero arrived as free transfers, while Luuk de Jong joined on loan from Sevilla.

Koeman spoke out after Wednesday's defeat and said that "it [Barcelona’s league position] tells us we're not well."

"The team has lost its balance, and lost very effective players. This shows. Other clubs have been strengthening their teams every season in recent years, and we have not, which is also evident."

Club legend Xavi, a former Barca midfielder, is currently Al Sadd's manager in Qatar. He is one of the favorites to succeed Koeman.

Barca has lost three consecutive away games without scoring for the first time since September 1987. This run saw Terry Venables, an English manager, fired.

Koeman won Copa del Rey at end of his first campaign, but Barca finished behind Atletico Madrid in La Liga and Real Madrid in La Liga, with their lowest points total since 2008.

Former Netherlands centre-back, he played for the Spanish club from 1989 to 1995. He helped them win four league titles and scored the winning goal in 1992 European Cup final.

Josep Maria Bartomeu, the former president of the club, brought him back to the club as his head coach in August 2020.

However, Laporta made it clear that the Dutchman was not his new chief.

They had a frosty relationship. Koeman issued a statement in September asking for time to rebuild his relationship after Messi's death and that of Antoine Griezmann, the forward.

After Sunday's defeat to Madrid, Koeman was surrounded his car by Barcelona supporters. He later called them "uneducated people".

He said that Rayo Vallecano was a social problem before the trip. People who don't know the rules and values of life are uneducated.

What went wrong in Barcelona?

Koeman made a 40 second phone call to Luis Suarez, an external-link player, his first task as coach. He informed the Uruguay striker that his services were no longer needed and was free to leave the club.

The board made the decision and now it is known that the board was in dire financial straits. A forward who had scored 21 goals in 29 games during the previous campaign, was forced to be ejected.

It marked a shift in the Barca team from one that could compete against Europe's elite to one which is struggling to qualify for the Champions League.

Messi submitted a transfer request, but he ended up staying for 2020-21. Suarez joined Atletico Madrid at a nominal cost and helped them win the league title.

In the background, the club's expenses had spiralled into an unsustainable level. This led to the largest wage bill in football world and left Barcelona facing bankruptcy. The stadium also needs renovation.

Messi was out of contract so the Argentina star agreed to a new deal in July this year, 2026. This included halving his salaries, but La Liga stated that Barca had to reduce their wage bill even further before he could register with any new players.

They were unable to do so, and in August Messi announced that he would be leaving the club "due to financial and structural barriers".

After he joined Paris St-Germain, Koeman lost even more talent as France forward Griezmann moved to Atletico Madrid. Griezmann re-joined the club he left two years earlier in a deal worth 107 million. This is a snapshot of what has gone wrong at Barcelona.

Although they were able to sign Depay and Aguero, former Manchester United forwards, the former Manchester City striker is just making his Barca debut. He was injured in pre-season.

Koeman's task was to transform the forward line of Messi and Suarez into a Depay, De Jong, and an aged Aguero. He will now be greeted by his successor.