Barcelona future ‘not in my hands’ says Ronald Koeman after dismal Benfica loss in Champions League

Ronald Koeman has insisted that a decision over his Barcelona future is out of his hands after another chastening night in the Champions League.

Having already been brushed aside 3-0 by Bayern Munich in their Group E opener earlier this month, the crisis-stricken LaLiga giants went down by the same scoreline against Benfica in Portugal on Wednesday night after a brace from Darwin Nunez and Rafa Silva effort.

Such a dismal pair of losses mean that five-time winners Barcelona have now made their worst-ever start to a Champions League campaign.

The Blaugrana already sit five points adrift of leaders Real Madrid in LaLiga after only six matches during a tumultuous time for the club financially, with huge speculation mounting over Koeman’s future.

"I'm not going to argue about the level of my team. There's no point in comparing this with Barcelona teams of years gone by. That's as clear as water," the 1992 European Cup winner said after the loss to Benfica.

"I can only give you my opinion of my work at the club - I feel backed by my players and their attitude. The rest, the club, I'm not sure ... I can't say any more, because I don't know what the club thinks in that sense. It's not in my hands."

On Barcelona’s performance at the Estadio da Luz, he added: “It’s a tough result to take, and it’s not what we saw on the pitch.

“While we conceded early, we were good until it became 2-0. We had a number of chances to score and didn’t take them. That’s how you change games.

“If they score the three chances they create and we don’t, then that’s the big difference between the sides.”

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