Earlier in the week, Barcelona dispensed with the services of head coach Ronald Koeman after a difficult start to the campaign for the Blaugrana.
In truth, the decision was inevitable, as there had been doubts over the future of the Dutchman Barcelona career since the summer.
Koeman had a highly difficult job on his hands at the Nou Camp considering that the squad needs rebuilding and he had to cope with the loss of the great Lionel Messi in the summer.
FFP meant that most of their new signings in the summer were free agents. The signings of Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia made sense, but they needed more quality coming in that only money could buy.
This season was always going to be transitional and Barcelona needed a head coach that everybody in the club could get behind. Unfortunately, Koeman was not that man.
The former Everton boss has never hidden his desire to manage the Catalan giants in the past. He couldn’t turn the job down when offered the position.
The problem is that Koeman has proven throughout his coaching career that he is a mediocre head coach. He had mixed records at Southampton and Everton, where he didn’t need to achieve much to be considered a success.
Arguably the only job he excelled at was being the head coach of his national team.
Without his former connections to the Catalan giants, it seems unlikely he would have even been considered for the job.
According to reports in the British media, another former player Xavi will be appointed as the next Barcelona head coach. The 41-year-old has impressed as head coach of Qatari outfit Al Sadd. His appointment would be a popular one, despite the relative lack of top-level coaching experience.
Xavi would appear to be a logical choice, as he would unite everybody at the Catalan club. He is possibly the only coach that could have that effect, as Koeman was never going to achieve that effect, which played a big part in his demise in Catalonia.