Barcelona Clause in Koeman's Contract Confirmed

Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman has a clause in his contract allowing him to move to Barcelona, though Dutch football chiefs hope to persuade to him to stay until the 2022 World Cup.

Koeman made 264 appearances in six seasons at Camp Nou during his stellar playing career.

He won 10 major honours in that time, including scoring the winning goal against Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley.

Koeman’s managerial career to date has taken in spells at the likes of Benfica, Valencia, PSV Eindhoven and Everton, before he signed a four-and-a-half year contract to become Netherlands coach in February 2018.

Prising Koeman away from such a long-term deal would prove prohibitively expensive for most sides.

He also said in the summer that now is “not the time” to consider leaving the Oranje, with the side on the brink of Euro 2020 qualification, their first major tournament since the 2014 World Cup.

However, director of football at the Dutch Football Association, Nico-Jan Hoogma, has confirmed the presence of a clause in Koeman’s contract that would allow him to move to Camp Nou should they make an approach.