Ronald Koeman appears to be having his days numbered as the manager of FC Barcelona following the 3-0 loss to SL Benfica in the UEFA Champions League, which sees the Spanish side at the bottom of the group.
Various candidates are surfacing as possible replacements for Koeman, one being River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo. The Argentine tactician is arguably the best manager outside of Europe, so it is no surprise that the Spanish side is looking at Gallardo.
Ahead of River Plate’s Super Clasico match against rival Boca Juniors, the 45-year-old spoke to the media. ESPN Argentina relayed his comments as he addressed the rumors regarding Barcelona’s interest in him.
“I doubted whether to do the conference or not because after what has been said and others, I knew that I was going to have to answer a question that I do not want to ask,” Gallardo said.
“Mainly because I am very focused on the game on Sunday and second because everyone already knows that my thinking and my decision is to fulfill the contract I have.”
The River Plate boss also commented on whether Barcelona has approached him about the job.
If they contacted me or not, what is the point? The only thing I can tell you is that my focus is on Sunday’s game and on ending my contractual relationship accordingly until then, then we’ll see how we continue,” Gallardo said.
Gallardo is under contract until December with River Plate. Furthermore, he doesn’t plan to leave the Argentine club before that time, so if Barcelona had him atop their list of candidates, they likely would have to remove Gallardo since he would be unable to take over the position right away.