The brother of Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman says new signings are intimidated by Lionel Messi.

Erwin Koeman insists the slow start to their Barca careers of Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele is due to the status of Messi.

He told Voetbal International: "Every new player at the club is afraid of not meeting Messi's demands, of being wrong.

"That's why players like Dembélé or De Jong took a while to find the right chemistry with Messi."

On De Jong, Koeman added: "It's nice to see De Jong exploit his potential, he has DNA playing in the area. He has unparalleled vision, depth both on and off the ball and knows that if he enters the area, he will score a goal. He is an additional weapon."