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Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said it was the club’s decision to ditch Luis Suárez and that he showed respect to the striker during the brief time they worked together.
Suárez, 33, joined La Liga rival Atlético Madrid after six seasons at Camp Nou this week in a deal that could eventually be worth € 6 million to Barça.
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The decision to whip Suarez, who had one year left to fulfill his contract, was criticized by Lionel Messi on Friday. The Barça captain accused the club of being disrespectful with the way they expelled him.
Koeman was in charge of communicating to Suárez that he would not have a role to play in the club this season, but stressed that the call had already been made by the club before his appointment.
“It seems I’m the bad guy in this movie,” the Dutch coach told a news conference on Saturday. “But that is not the case.
“I have shown respect to Luis – the player and the person – from day one. I always said that it would be difficult to give him minutes but that if he stayed he would be part of the squad. I told the club that I eat well.
“But it was a decision made by the club. Before I came in as coach, the club had already made decisions to change things. There are young players here. It was not a decision that I made alone, but also the club.”
Messi, who tried to force a move away from Barça himself this summer, used Suárez’s departure to further criticize the Barça leadership. He said that Suárez had been expelled but that “nothing surprises me anymore.”
The Argentine international’s comments came after he was enraged at president Josep Maria Bartomeu in an interview with Goal earlier this month when he announced that he would be staying at Barça next season.
“I think it’s normal for a player to be a bit sad when a friend of his leaves the club after so many years together,” Koeman said of Messi’s riots.
“The most important thing for me is how Leo has been in training and games. In training, he has been an example for everyone. I have not seen a single day in which he has seemed affected. I have no doubts about Leo in that sense. “
Barça kick off their season Sunday at home to Villarreal in La Liga in Koeman’s first competitive game since he replaced Quique Setien in August.
Koeman said that his team will be different from the Barça we saw last season, but that the club’s financial problems are preventing him from bringing in the players he would like to add.
“The style of play is going to be different, the system is going to be different and the way we pressure opponents will be different,” he said.
“[New] players? We have to wait. After October 5, when the transfer window closes, I will answer that question. We are looking for players to improve the team but what I want as a coach is not possible from an economic point of view.
“We have to understand that the economic situation is very, very difficult. But I accept it. I knew it before.”
Sources have told ESPN that Barça would still like to sign a right-back to replace Nelson Semedo, who signed with the Wolves last week. Ajax’s Sergino Dest is his first choice.
Manchester City defender Eric Garcia, who will be out of contract next summer, is also a target, while Koeman would like to bring in another striker. When asked if Lyon’s Memphis Depay and Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martínez were still options, he said he would “not rule anything out.”
