“I’m gonna take the Barcelona job” - Jason Kidd makes hilarious claim on Real Madrid fan Luka Doncic
Head coach of NBA side Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd has joked about taking up the Barcelona job when talking about their star player Luka Doncic. The 25-year-old played for Real Madrid's basketball team as a teenager and is a fan of the football side.
Kidd said (via Madrid Zone on X):
“If you want to get Luka to talk, you talk Real Madrid. If you want to piss him off, you talk about Barcelona. So today, I'm joking with him, Man, I think I'm gonna take the Barcelona job. Did you see how they sacked their manager?”
Doncic is one of the top stars of the NBA, leading the Dallas Mavericks side. As a 13-year-old, he signed with Los Blancos' basketball side and showed his talent on the European stage, attracting scouts and viewers from the US before eventually getting drafted in 2018.
The Slovenian even met with Real Madrid president Fiorentino Perez last month. The club president came to watch one of his games and the pair shared an embrace before the match.
Barcelona missed out on signing Real Madrid star in 2014: Reports
Catalan journalist Ramon Besa claimed that Barcelona rejected the opportunity to sign Real Madrid star Toni Kroos in 2014 when he was looking to leave Bayern Munich.
Speaking on the Spanish outlet Cadena SER, he said:
"I remember the case of Kroos a lot, because I asked [Pep] Guardiola when he left Bayern [Munich] and he presented himself as an alternative who could sign for Barcelona or Madrid."
"The player had the idea of leaving Bayern and was not very sure whether to go to Madrid or Barca. Barcelona didn't know how to push, they thought they had alternative players. There was even talk of [Sergi] Samper's case as an alternative to the midfielders [they had]. Kroos was dismissed. Guardiola warned that he was a very interesting player and for whatever circumstances he opted for Madrid," he added.
Having felt undervalued by Bayern, Kroos eventually joined Real Madrid for €25 million in 2014. The German international has established himself as a Los Blancos icon, winning four La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies among other honors.
Kroos announced his retirement from the sport earlier this month, with Real Madrid's Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund set to be his last fixture for the club. Meanwhile, the upcoming Euros will be his last set of matches for Germany.