Roberto Martínez has with Eurosport responded to the rumor that he is seen as the main successor to Ronald Koeman at Barcelona. The Belgian national coach refused to be guided by the speculation and is not concerned with a possible transfer to the Camp Nou, he said. Sport fueled the rumors on Wednesday by reporting that the national coach has a unilateral termination clause in his contract.
Monday reported Goal and ESPN already that Martínez is the favorite new trainer of both president Joan Laporta and technical adviser Jordi Cruijff, and also Sport has that belief. Martínez knows how it goes in football. “If you lose three games, there are already rumors that you will lose your job,” the Spanish coach refers to Barcelona’s difficult start to the season. “When things go well, you get good results. Rumors will always be there, but it’s not for me to comment on that at the moment.”
Barcelona are currently eighth in LaLiga and suffered a painful defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, which has put Koeman’s position under pressure. Tension between chairman Laporta and Koeman has risen in recent months after the president’s failed attempts to appoint a new trainer in the summer. Laporta addressed the supporters of Barcelona via social media this week and asked for support in a video message. Koeman made a statement during the press conference on Wednesday.
Martinez led Belgium to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but did not make it past the quarter-finals at Euro 2020 this summer. Belgium lost to European champions Italy. At club level, Martinez has only experience in England, where he has led Swansea City, Wigan Athletic and Everton. Martínez is with the Belgian federation until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but could therefore be avoided via a clause. The national coach can leave Belgium at any time if an amount of 1.8 million euros is on the table, it sounds like.
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