Ronald Koeman's successor was picked by Lionel Messi before leaving Barcelona: Reports

FC Barcelona decided to part ways with head coach Ronald Koeman owing to poor results in the ongoing 2021/22 La Liga season. The move comes after Barca's 0-1 away defeat to Rayo Vallecano at Madrid's Estadio de Vallecas on Wednesday as a result of which the 26-time La Liga winners find themselves reeling at the ninth position with four wins from 10 matches and 15 points to their tally. Meanwhile, Ronald Koeman's ouster comes 14 months after his appointment as the Barcelona head coach.

At the same time, it has been reported that former Barcelona great Lionel Messi has already picked Koeman's replacement before leaving the Spanish club.

Did Lionel Messi pick Ronald Koeman's replacement?: Reports

Ás per reports in the International Business Times, the football megastar had already revealed his pick for the outgoing head coach's successor at FC Barcelona. This happened before Leo left the club to begin his new professional journey with the Ligue 1 club Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) in August this year.

Meanwhile, according to the Spanish media outlet Cadena COPE, the current President of FC Barcelona Joan Laporta wishes to rope in the team's former midfielder Xavi Hernandez as Ronald Koeman's successor. The report also states that Lionel Messi wanted Xavi to replace Koeman before the former ended his association with the 31-time Copa Del Rey winners. 

More importantly, it has also been reported that FC Barcelona have already begun their negotiations with Xavi Hernandez as Ronald Koeman's replacement. Xavi is currently the manager of the Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd.

Ronald Koeman sacked 

Barcelona released a statement after Ronald Koeman was sacked stating that the president of the Barcelona club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. The release further stated that Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva. Barcelona thanked the coach for his service to the Club and wishes him all the best in his professional career.

Before the news about Ronald Koeman being sacked came out after the ex-Barcelona coach in his final interview post Rayo Vallecano defeat said, "I don't know if my future is in danger. We have players with goals in them. [Sergio] Aguero, [Memphis] Depay. It was difficult for us to get into the game, they put a lot of pressure on us. We've been superior. The result isn't fair, but it's there and we can't change it. The game we lost today isn't a problem of attitude or play. The team's level has dropped. We've lost very effective players, which also counts.