Ronald Koeman questioned Barcelona's intentions to let Lionel Messi go last summer, saying President Joan Laporta did not give him the time he deserved.
Speaking for the first time since being sacked as Barca boss in October, Koeman said he was surprised to see Ferran Torres join the club for €55 million in January after he was asked to leave several players during his tenure. Was forced to, especially Messi.
The Argentine international joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last August as Barca could not afford to renew his contract.
"It was at the insistence of the club's hierarchy that I agreed to the departure of some players to help keep the finances in order," Koemann told Dutch newspaper AD.
"But then when you see they sign someone for €55m soon after they leave Messi, it makes you wonder if something else was happening. Why did Messi have to leave?"
Barca have improved as Koman was replaced by Xavi Hernandez, moving up from ninth in LaLiga to fourth and a Champions League spot. However, they have also been out of the then-Champions League, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercopa.
As well as Torres, Xavi has benefited from the January arrivals of Danny Alves, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while other key players have returned from long-term injuries since their appointment.
As a result, Barca, who scored four goals in four different games in February, are now unbeaten in 10 league games and have reached the Europa League round-of-16, where they will face Galatasaray.
"Barcelona didn't give me the same amount of time as Xavi," Koeman said. "It's still painful for me. I was dealing with a lot of injured players. Now Pedri is back in shape. Usman Dembele's back. Every coach needs time and patience from the board.
"Laporta told me a thousand times that Xavi would not be his coach because he lacked experience. But I was not Laporta's coach. I felt that way from the first moment. After he was elected [in March] someone There was no click.There was a lack of necessary support from above.
"I really wanted to be successful in Barcelona, but I realized that Laporta wanted to get rid of me because I was not hired by him. You won't see me at Camp Nou for a while, I haven't done that yet." With this President, I can't pretend that nothing happened."
Koeman, who was a legend at Barca as a player and scored the winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final, returned to the club as coach in the summer of 2020 after an 8-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
During his time in charge, he oversaw the departure of several players, including Luis Suárez, Iván Rakitic, Antoine Griezmann and Messi, due to the club's financial problems.
In his first season in charge, he led the club to a third-place finish in the Copa del Rey trophy and LaLiga. But they were dismissed from just 10 games in this year's campaign, when Barca were ninth on the table with just 15 points after a 1-0 loss at Rio Vallecano.