Barcelona’s Koeman Era Begins As Club Is Set To Part Ways With 3 Star Players: Reports

FC Barcelona are set to part ways with three key players and with that, the La Liga side will begin a new chapter under the reign of Ronald Koeman.

After Barcelona went without a trophy last season, for the first time since 2008, Koeman was appointed as the new head coach. The Dutchman has been given the task of revamping the side for the 2020-21 campaign.

It was announced Tuesday an agreement has been reached between Barcelona and Inter Milan for Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal. The Serie A side will pay Barcelona around $1.2 million in variables.

"FC Barcelona would like to publicly express their gratitude to Arturo Vidal for his commitment and dedication and wishes him all the best for the future," read an official statement from the Catalans about Vidal, who joined Barcelona in the summer of 2018. In his maiden season with Barcelona, he won the La Liga, which was his eighth consecutive league title, in three different countries.

Barcelona showered some love for Vidal on social media. "Thank you & good luck, @kingarturo23!" tweeted Barcelona along with a video of the player.

The second player, who has confirmed his Barcelona exit, is right-back Nelson Semedo. Even though the Catalans have not made Semedo’s move to the Premier League official yet, the 26-year-old Portuguese has already bid goodbye to the club and his teammates on social media. In an Instagram post, Semedo thanked the Nou Camp side for allowing him to live the dream of wearing the Barca jersey.

"Thank you very much Barcelona for giving me the opportunity to live the dream of wearing this shirt, of playing in Camp Nou, of learning and enjoying the best in the world. Thank you for making me grow as a player and as a person. They were 3 wonderful years that I will never forget. Thank my colleagues, staff, fans, and all the people who helped me since I arrived until today. I wish you the best luck in the world. Eternally grateful," wrote Semedo, who is set to join English club Wolves.

Semedo has moved to Wolves on a permanent $40 million deal, soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano, who has a credible record of breaking transfer news, tweeted.

The latest player, who has received a green signal to leave Barcelona at the ongoing summer transfer window, is veteran Luis Suarez. After it was earlier understood Barca chief Josep Bartomeu was blocking Suarez’s move to Atletico Madrid, the latest BBC Sport report revealed the Catalans have backed out and have agreed to let Suarez join their rival club.

The report has stated Atletico Madrid would have to pay a minimal fee of not more than $4.6 million, which will be based on variables such as Champions League qualification. Suarez, who has been informed he is not included in Koeman’s new plans for Barcelona, has agreed to be paid half of the $35 million he earned at Barcelona.