Anthony Gordon explains Barcelona move and says he lacked respect in England | OneFootball

Anthony Gordon says he was not fully respected in England and is using his Barcelona move to showcase his football intelligence. He has started with five assists in seven appearances across all competitions.

"I think I’ve become a different player in the eyes of a lot of people because in England I always felt that I was respected for being fast and pressing, but they never really respected the quality and intelligence with which I play," Gordon stated. "Only the players I played with seemed to realise that." He was speaking to ITV.

Barcelona paid €70m (£60m) with a further €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons and gave the 23-year-old a deal to 2031, underlining faith in his technical profile. The switch has brought a clear tactical shift from the high-octane systems he played in England.

"I don’t think I was ever fully respected in England," he admitted. "People just see me as someone who’s very fast and very aggressive, whereas in Spain they really appreciate my intelligence and my quality."

"I felt I had more to offer than people thought I did, and I wanted to prove it on the world’s biggest stage. Going abroad was very important to me." He must now sustain these early impressions to justify the fee.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”