Ronald Koeman has officially started his employment with Barcelona. Last Saturday the Catalans won the first practice match 3-1 of Gimnàstic from the Segunda División B. Jordi Cruijff goes into an extensive interview with Sport on the appointment of Koeman to Barcelona, the role of Frenkie de Jong, the possible arrival of Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum and the soap opera about the departure of Lionel Messi.

Cruijff gets the question if Koeman gets the time to build a project. “It is a difficult time because of the corona crisis. You have to renovate the selection and that is difficult now. Chelsea, for example, is lucky. Because of last year’s transfer ban they can build a great team,” says Cruijff. “There are still a lot of players who can improve and have great potential. Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembélé, for example. If that comes out, you’ll have two fantastic players for the next ten years.”

“That’s a part you can’t count on. Football players are people, but Barcelona has young players. Boys who haven’t reached their maximum yet. If that succeeds, they have a good selection”, says the current trainer of the Chinese Shenzhen FC. Cruijff is then asked about De Jong. “Last year he played in a slightly different position than with Ajax and the Dutch. But I don’t think he’s going to take over Sergio Busquets’ position at Barcelona right now, because he still has a number of good years ahead of him. At Barcelona you play sixty games a year and you can’t talk about basic or substitute players”.

It is suggested that De Jong and Busquets could also form a block together in Barcelona’s midfield. “That depends on Messi’s position. In the end, that will be a key. There are different ways of playing and that will give the trainer a headache. As long as you have good players, that’s not bad. It’s bad if you don’t have good players,” concludes Cruijff. “Ask all trainers in the world if they would like to have Messi on their team. Everyone would give the same answer.”

“You have to understand different things, man and person. He has been with the club all his life, has seen Barcelona celebrate successes in Europe and has indicated several times that it is not good enough now to win the Champions League. I understand the disappointment of the last match, the worst defeats in recent years. He is a born winner and I understand that he is thinking about leaving, but I am not a lawyer and know little about clauses. It is in any case a wake-up call for everyone”, says Cruijff about Messi.

At the same time, Depay and Wijnaldum have been explicitly linked to a transfer to Barcelona in recent weeks. “You have to adapt, get what the trainer wants and make sure he can work comfortably. Depay has just returned from a torn crotch strap and has recovered very quickly. At Manchester United it didn’t work out before, but in France he did well. Luis Suárez is a striker who is dangerous in the penalty area, but Depay is a different player and can work in different positions”.

“Wijnaldum has been playing football in England for years, where he is more dynamic and physical than in Spain. He has had good years and he is approaching his top. But I don’t want to go further into rumours”, Cruijff continues. “I also think Thiago Alcántara is a good player. The transfer market is complicated for everyone at the moment. Especially if you have to renovate a whole selection.”