Barcelona eyeing Belgium's Roberto Martinez if club parts ways with Ronald Koeman - sources

Posted Thursday, May 27, 2021 by ESPN

Barcelona are considering the Belgium coach Roberto Martinez as a possible alternative to Ronald Koeman if they decide to move on from the Dutchman this summer, multiple sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Koeman, along with his agent, Rob Jansen, met with Barca president Joan Laporta on Tuesday at the club's Camp Nou offices to discuss his future.

Jansen told reporters the meeting was "positive," but sources have revealed to ESPN that Laporta told Koeman he has doubts about keeping him on for the second year of his contract, which runs until 2022.

The parties agreed to reconvene in the coming days, with Laporta wanting more time to assess his options after Barca finished outside the top two in La Liga for the first time since 2008.

Laporta does not want to sack Koeman without having a reliable replacement in place and must also consider the cost of letting him go, reported to be around €8 million, with the club's gross debt totalling almost €1.2 billion.

Martinez, sources say, is one of several options Laporta is contemplating as he weighs up a change.

The former Everton boss is currently preparing for this summer's European Championships with Belgium and has also been linked with the vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur this week.

He has a contract with Belgium -- he is also the technical director of the Belgian FA -- until the end of 2022, taking him up to the World Cup in Qatar.

Sources say he is happy where he is and his first intention is to stay put, although his contract allows for certain scenarios in the event a "top club" makes an offer.

Despite being from Catalonia, Martinez has no direct link to Barca but he says his coaching career has been inspired by the works of the late Johan Cruyff.

He's also close to Cruyff's son, Jordi, who was the best man at his wedding. ESPN reported earlier this week that Cruyff, currently the coach of Chinese Super League side FC Shenzhen FC, is in talks to return to Barca as the club's sporting director.

After ending his playing career in England, Martinez coached Swansea City, Wigan Athletic and Everton before taking on the Belgium job in 2016, leading them to the World Cup semifinal two years later.

Laporta hasn't been sold on Koeman since being elected as Barca president in March and two wins in the last six games of the season as Atletico Madrid won the title increased his doubts in the coach.

During the election campaign, Laporta sounded out Julian Nagelsmann, who has since been named the new Bayern Munich coach. There was also contact with Hansi Flick, as reported by ESPN earlier this month, but he had already agreed to take over as the new Germany manager after the Euros.

Former Barca midfielder Xavi Hernandez has been strongly linked with the job, too, but sources explain the Al Sadd coach doesn't have the backing of everyone on the board of directors.