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The departure of Luis Suárez from Barcelona enraged club captain Lionel Messi, but head coach Ronald Koeman says the forward decided to leave Camp Nou.
Ronald Koeman felt that Lionel Messi’s angry response to Luis Suárez’s departure from Barcelona made “sense”, but he insists that the Uruguayan forward left of his own free will.
The turbulence at the Catalan club became possibly the biggest preseason saga in European football. with Messi trying to force an exit after Suárez had been put up for sale, and Koeman replacing Quique Setien as a result of his 8-2 defeat in the Champions League against Bayern Munich.
While Messi eventually accepted that leaving was an impossibility despite being convinced that an exit clause in his contract was still valid, Suárez was sold to Atlético de Madrid for just 6 million euros.
Suárez’s departure coincided with his close friend Messi posting an emotional farewell message on his official Instagram account in which He publicly criticized Barça’s treatment of the former Liverpool striker.
And although Koeman said the outburst was understandable, I wanted to emphasize that no one expelled Suárez.
“If you have someone in the locker room that you, your wife, and kids hang out with outside of football, then that reaction makes sense.“Koeman told US.
“I also said that to Messi: I understand that you are disappointed and I think it is a terrible pity that he is leaving, but these are club elections.”
“In the case of Suárez, it was very difficult for him to play and I made it known to him sincerely..
“It was difficult for him, but I never had a problem with him. He just trained, he trained well.
Suárez could have stayed in Barcelona
“In the end, he made the decision to leave. And I also said that if you don’t go, for whatever reason, then you are just one of the group, then you prove me wrong..
“Could have stayed, yeah. “
Explaining the club’s decision to plan his life without Suárez, Koeman attributed it to the desire to start a new era and give young players more opportunities.
“I’m fine with Luis, but the club felt that we had to rejuvenate, “he added.” You see that now in the team.
Give young people a chance
“Ansu Fati plays, he is 17 years old. We have Pedri, 17 years old, who has his chances. Ronald Araujo is 21. [Francisco] Trincao enters a lot and is 20 years old, and we have taken Sergiño Dest, who is 19. Those are all future players “.
As for Messi, Koeman is convinced that the behavior of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been in keeping with his role as captain since he chose to remain at the club.
“After signing here as coach, I contacted Leo right away,” Koeman continued. “I went to his house and told him about his future.
“He was clear about his discontent. In the end it worked well and from the moment he indicated [that he is staying], he has done everything I expect of him. “
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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