Did you live a turbulent summer?
Yes, it has been a difficult summer. First I was happy to know that Barça was interested in my signing. Then, what happened with the injury happened, which was exactly the day of the Gamper, in the match against Juventus. I couldn’t be there. Then a lot of things were rumored, like I was leaving Barça. Things that were not true. It was all very strange, a strange summer. Now I’m happier because I have a few weeks left to be able to play. Maybe we shortened the deadlines. It is a very important thing.
He came, and Messi was not there.
That’s how it was. But I was very clear that I wanted to come to Barça. Sure, he had offers, but in March or April when there is a presidential election and Laporta wins, they tell me that can be done.
He won on March 7th.
Three weeks later I became interested in Barça and the first thing I told him was Leo. “Oh, that’s good,” he replied. That was when my representative was talking to the club and I was explaining to him the financial situation the club was in. And the first thing I said to my ‘repre’ was, ‘It doesn’t matter, let it be fixed anyway! I don’t care about money. ‘
Was he so clear?
What mattered most to me was playing for Barça, it’s the best club in the world, and I also want to go there because Leo was there. It was not a problem for me to come up with these conditions. I already knew what the club was like. Salary was never an issue. It was clear he would not charge the same as at City. Everything happened very fast and it was very simple, without putting any but. Then I arrived and Leo left.
So what did he think?
I dropped everything. It was a shock! I didn’t know, I wasn’t asking Leo how things were. I didn’t want to bother him. All I knew was that at the America’s Cup he had told me, “We’re trying to come to an agreement.” But I knew no more. Many asked me, but it fell on me too. Like everyone. It was suddenly. And on top of that, the injury happened to me in two days.
Did he have time to process everything he lived through those days?
It was 15 or 20 days of a lot of emotions. And of all kinds. Excitement, sadness, excitement, going back to sadness again … City said goodbye to Everton and everything went super well. I was super happy. The following week we lost the Champions League final. Again, sad and bad. I arrive here, happy again because my signing for Barça is announced. I go to the America’s Cup, happy again. Amazing to win! And then, again, sad. Leo, the injury …
What did he think?
So, like everyone. He would say to me, “I can’t believe it! I can not believe!”. It’s like … “No, no, I can’t believe it!” But in the end, one ends up understanding the situation that has been talked about for a long time by this economic agreement. Then here I no longer know anything more about what has happened. Done. Now that Leo is in Paris, I wish him the best, except when he plays against us. I am very friendly with him. He came to Barcelona the other day and we got together again. He always says that this is his home and that he will live here again. Her children are from here.
Did you want to leave Barça?
No, no, no … Not at all. Sometimes when something came out I used to respond to Twitch. But since I don’t use it much now, I thought, “And how do I do it now?” I didn’t know how to explain that it was a lie. Leo’s departure happened and if, on top of that, I don’t introduce myself to the Gamper, it’s even understandable that this could be thought of by journalists. I too would have wondered, “But what happens? Leo left three days ago and now Kun is not there. Have you been injured? Is it true? Or not? ” I couldn’t say it, but I didn’t take it too badly.
How did you face so much change in such a short time?
I am a person who always tries to be very positive. I try not to be sad because that affects me. Obviously, I have people in my home who help me to be able to be emotionally well and always think positively. This helps me a lot. Then it’s the day-to-day with classmates, the trust I have with them, laughing and having fun. I’m having a great time here, I’m doing it with everyone, we try to speak a little Catalan, some are teaching me, others are laughing … I’m a person who never shrugs, that’s the reality.
But without Messi everything will be much more complex …
Obviously, Leo is a player who out of nowhere can take those shrimp out of you without waiting for you and can win games for you without realizing it. But I think we have very good players. There are very good ones! If we keep in mind that we are very good I think we can do things very well this season. Here, the reality is that we all put in our heads this thought that everything will turn out well. We have a very good team and we must each take responsibility for saying: “Here I am, I want to be recognized and have a name at Barça.
Do you see a future for the team?
There are very good people. Barça always have very good players and the other advantage we have is that any rival who plays against us will always have great respect for us. It happened to me when I came to face Barça, even when I was at its worst. When he came to the Camp Nou, he said, “Let’s play in La Paz, in Bolivia.” You were on the field and you didn’t see the ball, you were drowning it! Now I have this advantage of being I am here. It needs to be taken advantage of and the guys who don’t know this need to be moved.
What will it give Barça?
I’m a striker who moves a little free in attack. I don’t put in a number of goals, but I come to contribute a lot. For sure!
But in his final year at City he played little due to injury.
It’s true, but I’ve started working on several things on an individual level for my age. I’ve changed a lot of things about eating, resting, and controlling fatigue, with everything I learned at City. I know my body. This happened from the injury, which was something I didn’t expect. My goal is to get well, my knee is no longer a problem. It’s been a long time coming. The problem is playing games, activating the muscles to endure in a week two or three games. That is my goal. I’m looking forward to playing at the Camp Nou. The other day when I went to watch the match with Getafe, I was really looking forward to it and I thought, “Shit, I want to go in, I want to go in!” But you still have to have a little patience.
What headline would you like for this interview?
A title? I want to leave my mark here … And I will.
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