Why does Héctor Bellerín’s return to Barça cause furore beyond football?

After training in the lower categories of Barça, Bellerín returns home for a season, having reduced his salary in relation to the generous fee he received at Arsenal, the club from which he has disassociated himself (he had one contract year) but that 25% of a future sale of the defense is reserved. For this reason, the footballer’s registration in the League is considered as a zero-cost transfer and not as the incorporation of a free agent, as is indeed the case of Marcos Alonso, Barça’s latest signing. The Catalan winger is available to be called up this Wednesday in Barça’s Champions League opener against modest Viktoria Plsen at the Camp Nou. On the other hand, the Madrid player, who was injured in the middle of pre-season, will have to wait a little longer, since even though he is recovered, he is out of competition. In addition, Alonso has not played any official matches this season with Chelsea, pending his departure. Sources from the Blaugrana club do not rule out to ARA that Bellerín could enter the list this Wednesday, while the left winger is practically ruled out.

Despite not being Xavi Hernández’s first choice to reinforce the right back, which was César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), nor the second (Juan Foyth, from Villarreal), nor the third (Thomas Meunier, from Borussia Dortmund), in Sant Joan Despí are confident of taking advantage of the ex-Arsenal player. The sources consulted highlight his offensive profile to the ARA: “He is a winger who combines well, who attacks space well and who also has a good cross. He is a dynamic footballer.” In addition, they also note that physically he has arrived well, so it is not ruled out that he could be called up against Viktoria Plsen. During his time in England, Bellerín showed a good level and was in the portfolio of Barça on several occasions – the last one, last summer – but he also had ups and downs.

His time at Betis

Two seasons ago, after a decade away from home and a difficult last year at Arsenal, in which he lost his title in the final stretch of the season, Bellerín was eager to return to Spanish football and be closer to his family, a reflection he had already begun to make during the pandemic. In the summer of 2021, he had several offers, but finally he allowed himself to be seduced by Betis, the team of which his father is a supporter, because of the good words conveyed to him by coach Manuel Pellegrini. Although he had extended his link with Arsenal until 2023 in 2016, a serious knee injury in 2019 cut short his progression and his prominence with the London outfit waned until it was decided to change d airs Last season, he regained his smile at the Andalusian team, with which he was crowned Cup champion and participated in 32 games in total, starting in 29.

But why has his signing caused so much furore on social networks? Apart from his taste for fashion, with looks as daring as extravagant depending on the taste of whoever looks at it, Bellerín breaks from the molds of what could be defined as the conventional footballer. He himself explains that he only uses second-hand clothes (although in the past he even modeled for brands such as Louis Vuitton), he is vegan and has been defending and collaborating with environmental movements for years. It is also, since 2020, one of the majority shareholders of the Forest Green Rovers , from League Two (the fourth division of English football), a club that has the honor of being considered by UEFA as the “most sustainable in the world” in environmental terms. In fact, the Catalan defender pledged in June of the same year to promote the planting of 3,000 trees every time Arsenal won a match. In total it helped finance the planting of more than 60,000 trees in the Amazon. This is Héctor Bellerín.