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Former Barcelona defender Junior Firpo recently claimed that ex-Barca manager Ronald Koeman once accused him of "contaminating" the dressing room at the Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde was Barcelona's manager when Junior Firpo arrived from Real Betis in the summer of 2019 in a deal reportedly worth €18 million. Valverde was dismissed in January 2020 and after a brief spell with Quique Setien at the helm of the La Liga giants, Ronald Koeman was appointed as the manager in August.
Firpo struggled for minutes throughout his time in Catalonia and was sold to Leeds United in July 2021.
During a recent interview with Spanish outlet Sport, the player opened up on his spell in Barcelona and talked about how Koeman accused him of contaminating the Blaugrana's dressing room at the time.
"Koeman gave me an answer in which he was not being honest: he told me that I was contaminating the group, so I stopped trying," he said (via GOAL).
Junior Firpo detailed how things kicked off for him on a negative note at Barcelona, recalling how he was substituted at half time after making a number of mistakes during his debut in a Champions League clash against Napoli. The defender revealed that he got several negative comments, insults, and threats after the game.
"Starting like this, with a mistake in my first game as a starter... and on top of that the coach took me off at half-time. That makes you start off on a very bad foot and with criticism," he said.
"As much as I didn't try to read them, nowadays everything reaches you, especially with social networks. After that game I had thousands of comments and insults, thousands of private messages and threats," the defender added.
Junior Firpo is currently plying his trade in the English Championship division after Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League last season. The defender has made just three appearances for the club so far this season.
Barcelona keep La Liga title hopes alive with victory over Atletico Madrid
Barcelona welcomed Atletico Madrid to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday night as the two clubs went head-to-head in La Liga. It proved to be a tight contest, but the Catalan giants managed to secure a 1-0 victory, thanks to Joao Felix's first-half strike.
Courtesy of the win, Barcelona have maintained their third spot in the table and kept themselves in the title race. They currently have 34 points after 15 games, four points behind Real Madrid and Girona who occupy the first and second positions, respectively, tied at 38 points.
Up next, Xavi Hernandez's men go toe-to-toe with high-flying Girona in the Spanish top flight on Sunday (December 10) in what promises to be an exciting encounter at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
