Next Barcelona manager odds: Who will succeed Ronald Koeman at Nou Camp?

The search is on for the Dutchman’s successor

(AFP via Getty Images)

Ronaldo Koeman’s tenure as Barcelona head coach came to a rather inglorious end on Wednesday, as he was dismissed late at night after the Catalan side fell to a 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.

It leaves Barca in dire straights, ninth in LaLiga’s table and with just one win on the board in the Champions League group stage - and work to do if they want to get back there for next season.

Already rumours are flying over who will replace him in the hot seat, with several important matches coming up for the Camp Nou side soon: a must-win at Dynamo Kyiv next week, the derby against Espanyol after the upcoming international break and then games in quick succession against Benfica, Villarreal, Real Betis and Bayern Munich.

Joan Laporta has to move quickly to appoint the new boss - but also has to get the decision right to save Barcelona’s season.

Here’s all you need to know on who might be next in the dugout.

Why did Koeman leave?

A series of poor results, with four defeats in the last six and only three wins in Barca’s last 10 games in all competitions. More than that, he was never the coach Laporta wanted in place to begin with and rumours that he would leave have been rife since last season.

Initially there was the complication of the club not having the funds to pay off the manager if they sacked him, but a members’ vote to approve the application of a €1.5bn loan last week solved a major obstacle to that problem, even if it’s not fully agreed yet.

Who are Barcelona linked with?

It’s clear who the favourite is: the man who used to control midfield, who was tipped to take over last time the job was available and who has been heralded as the person to bring back Barcelona’s identity, Xavi Hernandez Creus.

He has been with Al-Sadd since 2019, winning the Qatar Stars League earlier this year in what is his only senior job so far.

There are few individuals more entwined with Barcelona than Xavi, but it would still be an enormous ask for him to make a big success of this job given his relative inexperience and the total mess on and off the pitch the club are still in.

Next manager odds

Xavi Hernandez 1/4

Roberto Martinez 7/1

Marcelo Gallardo 10/1

Antonio Conte 12/1

Oscar Garcia 14/1

Ralf Rangnick 14/1

Erik ten Hag 16/1

Joachim Low 19/1

Andre Villas Boas 22/1

Marcelo Bielsa 22/1

Andrea Pirlo 22/1

Thierry Henry 22/1

*Selected coaches. Odds via Betfair.