Ronald Koeman's longed for Barcelona dream unravels into 14-month nightmare

Ronald Koeman was finally put out of his Barcelona misery on Wednesday night, with the club confirming his departure in a short statement.

The 1-0 defeat against Rayo Vallecano was the final straw in what has been a growing crisis at the Camp Nou.

The La Liga table, even at this early stage of the season makes for miserable reading, with the Blaugrana ninth in the table and already six points off the top four.

It marks the end of a nightmare spell for the Barca legend who has been the figurehead of the club during their most tumultuous year-and-a-bit in recent history.

Here's how it all unravelled for Koeman and why president Joan Laporta was finally forced to act.

A knight in dark blue and red

Ronald Koeman replaced Quique Setien in the summer of 2020 ( Image:

NurPhoto/PA Images)

Koeman made his return to Barcelona in the summer of 2020, 25 years after leaving the club as a player.

The 58-year-old made the difficult decision to leave his post as the Netherlands national team coach, despite guiding them to the European Championships.

After missing out on qualification for Euro 2016 and the World Cup in 2018, Koeman had helped reverse fortunes, but was unable to reap his rewards due to the delayed tournament.

A key part of Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' Koeman had long awaited the chance to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot.

But to say his opportunity came at a tricky time in the club's illustrious history would be a remarkable understatement.

Just weeks before his appointment, Barca were humbled by Bayern Munich, thrashed 8-2 in the Champions League quarter final, in arguably their darkest night in European football.

Quique Setien was quickly dismissed, with then president Josep Maria Bartomeu selecting the legendary defender as his preferred replacement.

A despondent Lionel Messi following the 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter final in 2020 ( Image:

Getty Images)

As well as poor results on the pitch, Lionel Messi seemed closer to the unthinkable than he had ever been, admitting he would stay at the club, but it would be against his wishes.

Add to that confusion over the futures of senior stars like Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and the size of the task was clear to see.

Nevertheless, Koeman was up to the challenge, despite admitting that "sometimes, you have to understand that to return to domination, first you need to pass through the desert for a few years".

Suarez's ruthless axe

Koeman's first order of business was to inform the club's third highest scorer in their history, Luis Suarez, that he was no longer required.

"The call from Koeman to tell me that lasted 40 seconds, it's not the way to say goodbye to a legend," Suarez said earlier this year.

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Luis Suarez was told he would be allowed to leave Barcelona after a short call with Ronald Koeman ( Image:

Getty Images)

"First he told me that I wasn't in his plans, and then he told me that if I didn't get my contract sorted out I was going to play against Villarreal [in the opening match of La Liga].

"He lacked the personality to tell me clearly if he didn't want me or if it was really the club that didn't want me. They were very difficult days because of everything I gave to the club."

Messi was distraught at his close friend leaving and the first seeds of his demise were sown.

A trophy, but no security

Along with Suarez; Arda Turan, Arthur Melo, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Nelson Semedo were all allowed to leave the club.

Coming the other way, there were a host of new arrivals, including Miralem Pjanic, Sergino Dest and the €5million acquisition of teenage midfielder Pedri.

Koeman's Barcelona reign actually got off to the perfect start, his first two La Liga matches ended in two wins, with seven goals scored and none conceded.

Messi scored a penalty as Barcelona won Koeman's first La Liga 4-0 against Villarreal ( Image:

Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

However, following that, the first sign that all was not well in Catalonia came with Barcelona winning just twice in the league between October 1 and December 5.

The Champions League was a welcome relief, winning five of their six group games, although they missed out on top spot after being thumped 3-0 by Juventus at home in the final matchday.

That ensured a meeting with beaten finalists Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 and a chance to reestablish themselves as a contender at Europe's top table again.

Messi put Barcelona 1-0 up in the first leg, before Kylian Mbappe swatted aside the five-time European Cup winners in a 4-1 demolition.

The damage was done and for the second time in as many years, Barca were left to lick their wounds on the continental stage.

Meanwhile, in the league, a lean October and November led to Koeman's most fruitful spell as boss.

Kylian Mbappe destroyed Barcelona ( Image:

Icon Sport via Getty Images)

Between December 13 and April, Barca had an unbeaten league run of 19 games, leaving them just one point off leaders Atletico Madrid and one ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid ahead of the El Clasico.

But that lead was overturned as goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos ensured Los Blancos would earn a double in the country's biggest games of the season.

They would ultimately finish third in La Liga, with a Suarez inspired Atleti breaking the Clasico stranglehold on the domestic crown.

Koeman did lift the Copa Del Rey, but it was clear that wouldn't be enough for any kind of security.

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Everything begins to unravel

Laporta was elected as Bartomeu's presidential successor in March 2021, voted in on a ticket that included a guarantee Lionel Messi would stick with the club.

Continued speculation over the future of Barcelona's greatest ever had started to become an albatross around the neck of anything Koeman tried to do.

But Laporta promised to put an end to that...little did anyone know what was around the corner.

After months of toing and froing, Barca looked like they had finally got their man with reports suggesting he was about to sign a new extended deal.

Messi was emotional after his Barcelona exit was confirmed ( Image:

AFP via Getty Images)

Then came the bombshell of all bombshells.

On August 5, it was confirmed that 'financial and structural obstacles' meant the Argentinian was unable to extend his contract and would leave the club as a free agent.

It was only then that the sheer scale of Barcelona's financial woes came to light. Free signings arrived, but for much of the summer it was unclear whether they would even be able to register, such was the wage crisis engulfing the club.

Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay arrived on frees, but the era of a Messi-less Barcelona was set to begin, with the squad looking the weakest it has in a generation.

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A thankless task, broken promises

Koeman's 'desert' comment was ringing in the ears as Barcelona started their 2021/22 campaign, seemingly miles behind their title rivals.

An Aguero injury meant Barca were even shorter of options than many had feared. However, despite all those troubles, Koeman actually guided the side to an unbeaten run of seven games to kick off the La Liga campaign.

But if there were shoots of positivity in the league, the Champions League was a very different story.

If Bayern Munich in 2020 and PSG in 2021 were humiliating, back-to-back 3-0 defeats against the Germans and then Benfica was arguably the nadir.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta's relationship with Koeman had become increasingly fraught ( Image:

Getty Images)

Laporta's near daily announcements often backed the boss, claiming he deserved a 'margin of confidence', but for much of the season, Koeman has looked nothing more than a dead man walking.

The defeat to Atleti at the Wanda Metropolitano at the start of October looked to be the death knell, with reports claiming a successor was being lined up.

Gagged from conducting interviews and seemingly accepting his fate, Koeman cut a resigned figure in his final month in charge.

There was a win over Valencia, but the Clasico defeat to Real Madrid, followed by the humbling loss at Vallecano was enough for Laporta to finally pull the trigger and end Koeman's tortured 14-month reign.

What next?

Defeat to Vallecano was the final straw for Koeman ( Image:

REUTERS)

Koeman waited his career for a role that quickly descended into a nightmare. His argument will be that it was a case of 'right man, wrong time', but the failure to galvanise his depleted squad worked against him.

Few were raising their hand to take the post following Setien's disastrous spell, but Koeman did just that and amongst a backdrop of financial crisis, Messi's exit and a team reaching the end of it's cycle, he managed to win one trophy.

It would never be enough, but his true legacy could come in the development of players like Pedri, Gavi and Ansu Fati and his time could be looked upon more favourably in years to come.

Either way, the next boss has a similarly impossible task to guide Barca through exceptionally choppy waters.