“I have unfinished business” – 23-year-old defender keen on Barcelona return in the future
Brighton & Hove Albion left-back Marc Cucurella has called Barcelona his ''home''. He said that he would like to return to the Spanish giants at some point in his career.
The 23-year-old Spanish professional has spent three seasons with the Barcelona B team. He featured 48 times and managed to score one goal for them. Cucurella was loaned to fellow LaLiga side Eibar in 2018 on loan for a year and was again loaned to Getafe for next season.
Cucurella was signed by English Premier League club, Brighton and Hove Albion on a five-year contract in 2021. He made his home debut in a 2-1 win against Leicester City in September this year.
Cucurella spent his youth career playing for Espanyol first and then Barcelona. While speaking to DAZN, Cucurella confessed his desire to play for Barcelona again at some point in his career.
"I spent many years at Barça and we could say it's my home or my family ot that of my partner, who's from Barcelona," the defender told DAZN.
He added:
"I have unfinished business because I made my debut in the first team but I was never able to play for the club at Camp Nou and I think it's something I would like to do before I retire."
Cucurella's contract with Brighton could see him play for the English club until 2026. Brighton have had a decent English Premier League season so far as they hold the 9th position in the table.
As per OptaJoe, Cucurella is one of the top five on an elite list. He is among the defenders to have created the most chances in open play per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.
5 - The five defenders with the most chances created in open play per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season (min. 270 mins):
2.8 - Reece James
1.7 - Trent Alexander-Arnold
1.7 - Marcos Alonso
1.6 - Marc Cucurella
1.5 - Konstantinos Tsimikas
Viewfinder. https://t.co/EbZqjQyjKX
Barcelona in deep trouble in LaLiga
Barcelona are going through a hard time in the ongoing season of La Liga. As things stand currently, Barcelona stand on the 7th position with just 20 points in 13 matches. Meanwhile their arch-rivals Real Madrid hold the top position, 10 points clear of the Catalan club.
Barcelona's squad has major injury concerns this season. The biggest shock was the forced retirement of Sergio Aguero after he was detected with a major heart problem.
Their new manager and club legend, Xavi, has had to deal with other major injury concerns before they take on Villareal on Sunday. The young prodigy, Ansu Fati, is again being sent for medical attention after he pulled up his hamstring in the last match. Meanwhile, Pedri has been ruled out until January 2022 due to a thigh injury.
Barcelona sacked Ronald Koeman and appointed Xavi as their new manager earlier this month. Xavi's first move was to bring back Brazil international Dani Alves, who had been a free agent since leaving Sao Paulo in September.
Dani Alves is back at the Camp Nou 🏠 https://t.co/GfxQXqL4we
Barcelona will hope they can make a comeback this season with motivation from their club legends.