Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman names single factor that would force him to quit

Ronald Koeman: A look at the Dutchman's managerial career

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Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman claims that he would only quit his job at the Camp Nou if he felt that the players were not listening to him on the pitch. The Dutchman has been under fierce scrutiny since his side battled to an ugly draw against Granada on Monday night, with those around the club not best pleased with the nature of the performance.

A midweek drubbing at home to Bayern Munich got the ball rolling for Koeman, with the defeat highlighting just how far off the pace Barca are in European terms.

In fairness, the former Everton boss is taking on one of the most scrutinised jobs in football amid truly unfavourable circumstances.

With the club in over £1billion worth of debt, they were forced to undergo radical transformation during the summer which saw them lose Lionel Messi to PSG.

Still, Koeman battles on, and he has elaborated on what could make him throw in the towel at Barca.

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According to Fabrizio Romano, he said: “The only way I will quit Barça is when my messages don’t arrive at the players anymore.

“That’s when I will say: ‘Okay, I am done here’. But this is not the case.

“Every day that I am on the pitch with my players is a nice day.”

The players do appear to be obeying his orders, but those instructions could well be the problem after they deployed ugly tactics to rescue a point against Granada.

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A barrage of crosses were sent into the box while centre-backs Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo performed as makeshift strikers, with the latter eventually heading home in the 90th minute.

Such tactics are a far cry from the days when they played beautiful football under the likes of Pep Guardiola, and fans voiced their anger at the full-time whistle.

With uncomfortable questions flying at Koeman on a daily basis, he refused to take any during Wednesday’s press conference.

Instead, he read out a prepared statement which included: “The club is with me as the coach in a situation of rebuilding.

“The financial situation of the club is connected to the sporting activities and vice versa.

“This means that we, as a team, have to rebuild the football team without being able to make any big financial investments. This process requires time.”

Indeed, homegrown youngsters Pedri and Ansu Fati watched on from the sidelines on Monday due to injury, and they could make an impact later in the season if Koeman is kept in the job that long.

Some reports indicate that his sacking is merely a matter of time, with current Belgium manager Roberto Martinez in line to take his place.

Antonio Conte also remains on the market, while club legend Xavi is still pulling up trees over in Qatar with Al Sadd.

As it stands, however, Koeman remains in charge, and although he has outlined what it would take for him to quit, that may become irrelevant if the club make the decision for him.

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