"The Barca DNA is in Cruyff, Guardiola and Messi"

Ronald Koeman watches Barcelona's day-to-day life from afar. He is the Netherlands coach in a second stint that gives him more free time between international breaks. On Thursday he was at the presentation of the fourth edition of the Koeman Cup and gave a press conference in which he was candid about everything he was led into.

"I saw the picture before the game between Luis Enrique and Xavi and they seemed very good friends, but a day before I saw Luis Enrique in some statements out of place. I think there is more between these two coaches, I think. You will know more," he said of the controversy over the naming of Barca DNA and who is its best representative.

"I don't know if there is a written paper on what Barca DNA is. For me it's winning titles. There are only three people who have this DNA. Johan Cruyff is the first, who changed a lot in this sense by playing with wingers and attractive football.

"The second is Pep Guardiola. The best football in Barcelona's history has been with Pep. And Lionel Messi. If you have Messi, you don't need to talk about DNA. He is the best of all time," he told reporters.

"You want to play attacking, you want to play attractive, but what counts are the titles won. There is a very big example. Look at Ajax, where they are now," he added.

He also empathised with Xavi thinking about the early announcement of his resignation: "I can understand it because he has lived through a very complicated situation. It happened to me and with less help than he has. Each person must choose and decide for themselves," he concluded.