Barcelona president backs off Koeman, manager stays for now

Over the past week, news has been rife about the war of words between FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta and manager Ronald Koeman. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the pair has put on a united front despite yet another disappointing result in La Liga.

Barcelona could only manage to come away with a goalless draw against Cadiz on Thursday, and many expected Koeman's head to roll. However, despite the disappointing result that also saw Koeman getting sent off for dissent, he will not be sacked, at least not yet.

Barcelona have now gone on three games without a win against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and against both Granada and Cadiz in La Liga. However, Laporta believes that making a rash decision on impulse won't help the club in the current situation.

According to a report by Spanish publication Marca, Ronald Koeman will remain in his post as Barcelona manager. However, he will be doing his job only from the stands on Sunday, when the club faces Levante. He has been slapped with a 2-match ban following the red card against Cadiz, and this will also see him suspended during their crucial clash against defending champions Atletico Madrid.

Nevertheless, there won't be any drastic decisions for now, with Laporta choosing to remain calm and patient. He reportedly had a lengthy discussion with the manager on their way back to Barcelona from Cadiz, and it appears as though Koeman has convinced Laporta to give him more time to turn things around.

It's not the best situation for a redemption run, with Koeman suspended for two matches. Frenkie de Jong will also miss the match on Sunday, after being sent off himself with two yellow cards on Thursday.

Barcelona also have a crucial Champions League match against Benfica coming up, and if they fail to win that match, they will be looking at an impending early exit in the UCL this season after losing their opening match against the German champions last week.

It will be a decisive string of matches for Koeman, and he is in the worst possible position to try to fix the situation. However, with Laporta now more willing to cut him some slack, it remains to be seen what the Dutchman can pull off.