FC Barcelona started the 2021-2022 season with very gray tones, amid their economic crisis. Despite winning several preseason games, for the first time, they prepared to face a campaign without Lionel Messi, their biggest star, who left for Paris-Saint Germain. The blue and reds, under the direction of Ronald Koeman, since the start of the main competitions, such as LaLiga Santander and the Champions League, have not been doing well.
The Barcelona board made the decision to dismiss the Dutch coach, who was only in charge for a complete season (2020-2021), a period in which he managed to win the Copa del Rey.
"The club's president, Joan Laporta, has communicated this to him after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad at the Ciudad Deportiva on Thursday. FC Barcelona wants to thank him for his services to the club and wishes him good luck in his professional career," the club's statement reads.
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For the start of this year, the blaugranas have played 13 matches in all competitions. Of that total, they accumulated five wins, three draws, and five losses. Their last defeat, against Rayo Vallecano, was Koeman's last game in charge of Barza, as they lost 1-0 with a goal from Radamel Falcao, which followed their second defeat in the Spanish league.
Key defeats in LaLiga Santander and the Champions League
The campaign of FC Barcelona began to turn very dark when the team was thrashed at home, at Camp Nou, by Bayern Munich 0-3 in the first match of the Champions League. Koeman's team failed to recover from the tough defeat and their inconsistent performance was reflected in the LaLiga Santander games.
Then against Benfica, away from home in the international tournament, they were thrashed 3-0 and, in the same week, the blaugranas were defeated again in the local league against Atletico Madrid 2-0.
In their two recent matches in charge of the blaugranas, Ronald Koeman saw his team being overtaken on the scoreboard by Real Madrid, in the Spanish Clasico (1-2), and finally by the rayistas in Vallecas.