Barcelona dealt fresh blow as Guardiola's recommendation rules himself out

Barcelona have been dealt a fresh blow as Pep Guardiola 's reported recommendation to replace Ronald Koeman as manager has appeared to turn down the job.

With Koeman struggling to steady the Blaugrana ship post- Lionel Messi 's departure, most recently scraping a 1-1 draw at home to winless Granada, reports in Catalonia suggest the former Everton and Southampton boss could soon be out of work.

El Nacional claim that Manchester City boss Guardiola has personally endorsed Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.

ten Hag, who signed a new two-year contract in Amsterdam back in April, has been linked to taking over the Camp Nou hot seat if Koeman is sacked, a decision made even more complex with the potential compensation ramifications.

ten Hag famously led Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 ( Image:

Dean Mouhtaropoulos)

But the 51-year-old, a Dutchman like Koeman, has opted to distance himself from the speculation.

"What do I have to do with all that? I am busy with Ajax," ten Hag recently said to ESPN. "These rumours… That's fun for you, but not for me."

Barcelona's draw at home to Granada was watched by just 27,000 at their iconic ground, in spite of a 40,000 capacity being permitted.

It followed Koeman and co's 3-0 thrashing at the Camp Nou against Bayern Munich.

Having since stressed that he is unwilling to discuss his future publicly, the former Blaugrana centre-back refused to take questions from journalists in his pre-match press conference for Barca's trip to Cadiz on Thursday evening.

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Instead, Koeman read out a pre-prepared statement to the media.

"Good morning everyone, the club is with me in this reconstruction period," he said ahead of the La Liga fixture.

"The financial situation of the club is linked to the sporting output, this means that we have to rebuild the squad without being able to make big investments. Football needs time and patience, young people can be world stars in two years.

"The good thing is that young people will be able to have opportunities like Xavi and Andres Iniesta had in their day, but it requires patience."

Koeman noted: "Also, to have a high ranking in La Liga would be a success for us. In the Champions League you cannot expect miracles. The defeat against Bayern Munich it must be taken from this perspective.

"The club must be supportive, in word and in deed. I know that the press recognise and understand this process, it is not the first time it has happened in the history of FC Barcelona."

He added: "We count on the support of the fans in these difficult times, we as a squad and players are very happy with the support we had from the fans in the game against Granada."