Koeman and Laporta bury the hatchet over coffee

The breakdown in relations between Ronald Koeman and Barcelona following his abrupt departure generated a climate of discord in the Catalan capital, especially with Joan Laporta, who was heavily criticised by the Dutch coach after he left. This created distance between the two, despite the good relationship they had maintained for years. This Friday, at the Koeman Cup, a charity paddle tennis and golf tournament hosted by the coach, both he and Laporta appeared together.

"You have asked me for quite some time if we had had a coffee. The most important thing is Barca. Sometimes in life there are things much more important than a conflict between two people. For the good of Barca, for the good of the president and for my part. We have made peace; we have not talked much about what has happened either. We have to move on. Once again, Barca is the most important thing," said Koeman.

Laporta responded: "First of all, there is affection. Apart from being a legend of Barca, he is a great person. We are united by Barca, many feelings that we share, and we thought what was happening made no sense. It was not coffee, it was a 'carajillo' (coffee with a dash of brandy). That cheered us up a bit. We both took the step. We have common friends, and they brought us back together. It was easy because Ronald is an extraordinary man."

Koeman left the 'Azulgrana' club through the back door in 2022, and the coach showed his discontent with the treatment he received. "Laporta will always keep saying that I am a club legend... then show it! It hurt me; he sacked me on the plane when the players were behind us," he said in an interview with Dutch television in 2022. Now, both have smoothed things over.