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Ronald Koeman arrived at Barcelona in a difficult period for the club, as Lionel Messi requested the release of the board after the 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich. However, the Argentine ended up staying at the Camp Nou and his coach believes that the Blaugrana are better off with him on the pitch.
The Dutchman is confident that Messi’s performance will improve as the season progresses and wanted to assure fans that the team captain is fully committed to Barcelona.
“Messi has shown me that I am a person who wants to win things, be the best and continue to be the best, even though he has had his problems with the club,” Koeman told L’Esportiu and Sport. “Barcelona has been, is and will be a better team with Messi than without Messi.
“When I arrived they told me that Messi was unhappy. We spoke at his house. He explained his reasons and I was honest.
“I told him that the only thing I can change is football. The system, his position on the field, his importance in the team. But the problems he had had with the club he could not change.
“From day one I have said the same thing. He is the best and is committed to the club. He has had his problems, his problems this summer, but since he returned to training he has been very good.
“He has had bad luck in some games and has not been able to deliver the usual performance, but I am sure that at the end of the season he will have scored the usual goals.”
Barcelona top their Champions League group, but they are struggling in LaLiga Santander in this first part of the season. Koeman stressed that refereeing decisions have played a role in some games in which the team has lost points.
“We have been able to change the image of the team, we have made changes that have given the group another air,” added Koeman. “People are very involved, very committed. We have increased the intensity of the training sessions and we played good games.
“It is true that we have lost many points in the League, in games in which we could have achieved a better result. Arbitration decisions have influenced the final result in some matches.
“We know we have to improve things and we are working towards that. Now we have a break, but we are already preparing a very demanding schedule for when the competition returns.”
Ansu Fati has undergone surgery and will be out of the game for the next four months. However, Koeman has revealed that Barcelona are not planning to sign any players to cover them in January.
“We don’t have to sign [any player] for this injury, “Koeman noted.” We had already talked to [Barcelona technical secretary] Ramon Planes and everyone already knew which positions should be reinforced.
“We were looking for a forward and a central defender and everything remains the same.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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