Being one of the biggest clubs in the world, it is very difficult for even the most promising of players to survive in the highly competitive FC Barcelona team. Only the best and the luckiest players are able to remain a part of the Catalan team, as several factors can determine how their careers pan out.
Few individuals would be able to understand this fact as deeply as the Fulham winger Adama Traore. The Spanish forward is currently having a very good season with the English side in the Premier League, as he already has one goal and two assists to his name.
In 2022, he got the chance to play for Barcelona, the club where he had developed as a youth-level player. He arrived in the winter window to reinforce Xavi’s attack and had an instant impact on the team’s attack with his arrival. However, his performance declined as weeks went by. Still, he provided four assists in seventeen appearances for the Blaugranes.
At that time, there were reports of a possible extension of his loan or a full acquisition, but he ultimately ended up returning to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
As SPORT has highlighted, the winger discussed his departure from Barcelona, which left a ‘bad taste’ in his mouth, during an interview with the Spanish outlet Cadena Ser. He directly blamed Xavi for his exit:
“I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Maybe a bad taste in my mouth because every Barça academy player wants to stay. I knew I was going on loan and that the club’s situation and my intention were to help as much as possible.”
“It’s true that midway through my loan, things changed, more on a personal level, due to the coach. I was supposed to fill Dembélé’s position. That was the position I was brought in for, and Xavi chose to keep him. These are all stages of learning.”
However, he did not close the door to a potential return to the Catalan club: “As a youth academy player, I’ll always be a Barcelona fan. If I had the option, why not? But it would have to be under different circumstances.”
With the way the current Barcelona forwards are playing, Traore will not have much of a chance of returning to his former club. However, there is no doubt that in 2022, he was an interesting option for Xavi to have, and he did help the team get some results.
