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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor O'Neill

Barcelona confirm Ronald Koeman decision ahead of Gini Wijnaldum arrival from Liverpool

Georginio Wijnaldum looks set to sign for Barcelona after the Spanish side confirmed Ronald Koeman will remain in charge next season.

Koeman has faced doubt over his future at the Nou Camp following the arrival of Joan Laporta as president and a poor end to the season.

And just last week, Koeman's representatives hit out at Barca and president Laporta's apparent unwillingness to commit to the Dutchman, in a riddled social media post.

Rob Jansen, via his own Twitter account, criticised their approach following a meeting over the former Everton boss's future.

He wrote: "Imagine: I want to marry you, but I have doubts. Give me two weeks to find a better partner. If I can't find the right person, we will get married anyway!"

Koeman still has a year left on his contract at the Nou Camp and will now remain at the club, with Wijnaldum expected to become the club’s latest new addition.

The Dutchman is out of contract at Anfield and, having failed to agree new terms, is set to leave the club when his deal expires.

A host of clubs from around Europe have been linked with the former Newcastle United man, including Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

But Wijnaldum's agent, Humphry Nijman, and legal adviser, Jan Kabalt, arrived in Barcelona last week to open talks over a three-year deal.

Those talks are believed to have progressed well and the Dutchman, it is believed, has verbally agreed a deal with the La Liga club.

Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal have all joined Barca this week, with Wijnaldum expected to join them soon.

Although no explanation has yet been given on his Liverpool departure, Wijnaldum revealed after his final game at Anfield, that he will tell the story behind the move at some point.

"The situation right now is that as of July 1st, I'm not a Liverpool player anymore. We will see what I will do in the next couple of weeks,” he wrote on social media.

“I will rest a little bit and then go to the national team. I will have a look at my story and how everything went. The fans deserve to know the story behind it."

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