Ronald Koeman, former midfielder of the Dutch national team, was appointed as the new manager of La Liga's Barcelona, announced the club on Wednesday, which fired Quique Setien two days ago.

The 57-year-old signed a two-year contract, which will keep him in the position until June 30, 2022. Barcelona reportedly paid the Royal Dutch Football Association five million euros (about 5.97 million U.S. dollars) as the price for luring their national team manager away.

"It was an honor to be the national coach of Netherlands. For the past two-and-a half-years I have done everything I can to achieve successes with 'Oranje'. I look back with pride on what we have achieved together in that period. The Dutch national team has a bright future, I am convinced of that. Everyone knows that Barcelona is my dream club. It feels very special to me to be able to become a coach there," said Koeman.

Alfred Schreuder, former manager of Bundesliga's Hoffenheim, will become Koeman's assistant coach.

After the catastrophic 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions league Quarterfinals, Setien's sacking was unavoidable. There were other candidates along Koeman – Xavi, Mauricio Pochettino – but in the end, the Spanish heavyweights decided to have Koeman take over Camp Nou.

What awaits the new manager is a total mess. Barcelona first were knocked out from the Copa del Rey, then lost the La Liga championship to Real Madrid. Of course, the worst humiliation came from the Champions League. The succession of defeats put everyone on tenterhooks. The failed transfers made it financially impossible for the club to make any major improvement of their old, slow, underperforming franchise.

Koeman said he will restart around Lionel Messi – he does not really have another choice – but a club that enjoys glorious history of Barcelona won't be patient, especially when their ace is already 33 years old.