RONALD KOEMAN is set to receive a £10million pay-off after being sacked by Barcelona.
The 58-year-old Dutchman was dismissed by the Catalan giants late on Wednesday night following a 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.
Pressure was growing on the club to get rid of Koeman after a torrid start to the new season.
But with his contract up in June, some thought the Barcelona bosses may opt to run his contract down and avoid paying millions in compensation.
However, he has now been sacked and journalist Juan Arango is reporting that the club will have to hand the former Everton boss a sum in the region of £10m.
Barca’s current financial crisis has been well-documented, with the most overt sign of its seriousness coming when Lionel Messi departed in the summer.
Antoine Griezmann also returned to Atletico Madrid on loan as the Catalan side looked to try and trim their wage bill.
They are also still paying compensation to former manager Quique Setien who was sacked in August 2020 after just eight months.
Meanwhile, Koeman will head to the Nou Camp on Thursday to say his final goodbyes to the players and staff.
His departure comes as Barca sit ninth in the LaLiga table with just four wins from their opening 10 games.
They also suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats in the Champions League group stage at the hands of Bayern Munich and Benfica.
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Club legend Xavi is the favourite to take over from Koeman and is said to have already agreed to join his former side.
Barca are now working on the termination of his contract at Qatari outfit Al-Sadd, something which would cost them around £840,000.
And Spanish reporter Ferran Correas believes the club’s plan is for Xavi to take over after the next international break in three weeks time.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
