Koeman and Pellegrini play down Barca speculation

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman and Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini have both played down the possibility of moving to Barcelona.

The future of current Barca coach Luis Enrique has been called into question in recent days amid rumours of a fall-out with star player Lionel Messi and the announcement that the club will hold presidential elections at the end of the season.

Koeman, a former Barca player, admitted on Friday that he retained an interest in coaching the club he represented between 1989 and 1995.

However, the Dutchman insists he will respect the three-year contract that he signed at Southampton in July.

Asked if he could see himself one day managing Barcelona, Koeman replied: “Yes, but I had that some times and it never happened and now I am very happy to be here in Southampton and that’s the most important [thing].

“I started with a contract in Southampton and I like to be respectful to my contract and to the people.”

Commenting on the apparent turbulence at Camp Nou, Koeman added: “Teams like Barcelona, if they lose games there’s always a lot of critics, rumours, speculation, and I know because my whole life I am linked to Barcelona, but it’s not the time to talk about that because I think it’s not respectful to Southampton and it’s not respectful the people of Barcelona.”

City manager Pellegrini, who has previously coached Real Madrid, also underlined his commitment to his current club in a news conference on Friday, stating he was “very happy” at the Etihad Stadium.

“I have a contract for this year and next year,” said the Chilean.