La Liga midfielder reveals reason behind snubbing Barcelona in 2023 | OneFootball

Barcelona signed Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 but wanted another midfielder and had their sights set on Sergi Darder as well.

At the time, Darder was the captain of the Blaugrana’s fierce rivals RCD Espanyol, who were relegated from La Liga.

Former Barça manager Xavi Hernandez wanted to add another creative midfielder to their ranks and had identified Darder as a good, low-cost signing for the team.

However, the midfielder turned Barcelona down and instead opted to sign for Mallorca.

Confirming that discussions were indeed held between him and Barcelona, Darder said: “At that moment you listen, obviously. When Barça call you, you have a hard time. Not because you value it, but because you say: ‘The problem is that everything that comes after that is going to be bad for me.’”

“When a team of that level calls you, everything else is going to look worse,” he added.

Opening up on his decision to snub the Blaugrana, Darder said: “Out of respect for Espanyol. That’s why it hurts me so much to have left there badly and that I’m not valued so much for not being there (at Barça).

“I only did it out of respect for Espanyol. Surely others in my situation would have gone to Barça.”

Finally, Darder explained how his contacts with Xavi went, saying: “They are situations where you coincide because of children in different places and, from there, you deal with them like with any other footballer or coach that you see.

“The fact that they go to the same school (his and Xavi’s children), you see them from time to time and ‘I want to call you’. You talk and there’s no problem, but you keep those conversations to yourself.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo