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🚨🎙️| Ronald Koeman on why Alessandro Bastoni isn’t a necessary addition for FC Barcelona:
“Look, I know people love Bastoni. They see a left-footed centre-back who can pass and suddenly he’s ‘perfect for Barcelona’. But football is not just about looking elegant with the ball, it’s about what you do when everything is falling apart. I’ve watched Bastoni closely, the hype is ridiculous. Barcelona doesn’t need him, and I’ll tell you why.
At Inter, he plays in a system that protects him a lot. A back three, very structured, very disciplined. There’s always cover. At Barcelona, you don’t have that safety. You defend big spaces, you get isolated, you are responsible. And that’s where I have doubts.
When Bastoni is under real pressure, you can see it, he hesitates. Against quick attackers in open space, he’s not the fastest, and that becomes a problem. In Spain, teams will target that immediately. You can’t hide it.
And yes, he’s comfortable on the ball, but sometimes too comfortable. He takes risks in buildup that look nice when they work, but when they don’t, you put your whole team in danger. At Barcelona, one mistake like that is a goal.
For a player of his size, I also expect more aggression, more dominance in the air. Sometimes he looks passive. You need defenders who enjoy the ugly side of the game, duels, second balls, leadership. I don’t always see that hunger with him.
People also talk about him like a leader, but I don’t see him commanding a defence consistently. At Barcelona, centre-backs must organize everything. You don’t wait for others, you are the one others follow.
For me, he is a player who looks better because of the system around him. When the structure is perfect, he looks top. But when the game becomes chaotic and at Barcelona it often does, you see the cracks.
So no, I don’t think Barcelona needs him. They don’t need another defender who looks stylish; they need someone who is ruthless, dominant, and ready to suffer. Bastoni, in my opinion, is more about style than substance when it really matters.
That’s why I don’t see him as a priority for Barça, no matter how popular his name is right now.”
