The star of Fermin Lopez is on the rise at FC Barcelona. The youngster arose from relative obscurity during the last few months and is now a reliable rotation piece for Xavi, especially with two highly important midfielders currently out with injury and other starters also accumulating a lot of minutes.
One of his goals has already helped the club avoid a defeat against Mallorca, and he is getting increasing prominence in the team. However, his time at Barcelona has not been all roses, as he shared memories of a very difficult period at the club in his recent interview with Mundo Deportivo.
Lopez on his early career difficulties
Lopez recalled the difficulties in the earlier part of his career at the Catalan club:
“As you can imagine, it’s not easy. I arrived here at the age of 13; I was still a child, far from my parents, and in the end, it’s also hard to trust someone like I was at that stage, very young. Well, there were always people in the club who believed a lot in me, and I continued here, passing through stages until the opportunity came.”
Despite these difficulties, it was the youngster himself who decided to stay in Barcelona and work to succeed at the club:
“In large part, it was me because when I was here, and it was my dream, I couldn’t see anything else other than Barça. Also, my family, especially my father, with whom I talked more about football. Ultimately, it was what I felt at that moment, and I always believed that I wouldn’t be better off anywhere else, despite the circumstances.”
While Fermin ultimately decided to stay at the club, the midfielder confesses that he had reached his limit and could have left Barcelona at that time:
“Yes, honestly, during my third year as a youth player, there was a period before Christmas when I reached my limit. I couldn’t take it anymore; there was a lot of frustration, I cried a lot, and I was struggling. I tried to do it when I was alone, but sometimes people also saw it. I was down, but well, in the end, everyone goes through such a phase. I think it made me mentally stronger and helped me so that when I face similar circumstances again, I handle it better.”
Receiving psychological help and support from teammates
The player also shared that he received psychological help from the club, and this ultimately helped him get over his difficulties:
“Here in La Masia, the club could see that my mind wasn’t in the right place, and I received psychological help for a while, and it worked well. I gradually gained control over it. Because I used to get very angry and frustrated a lot, I overthought things a lot, and mentally, that’s detrimental when it comes to studying because I was constantly thinking about the same thing. The truth is, thanks to La Masia and my parents, I was able to cope with it better.”
Lastly, Lopez also named the fellow players who helped him during this time of tribulations:
“Honestly, here in La Masia, I’ve always felt very loved by everyone. But my closest circle has always been Gavi, I’ve always been with him, and also with Cristo from the youth team. Honestly, the two of them have always tried to help me, so I wouldn’t be down, and that hug and advice came from them. I truly appreciate it because they have always been by my side during the toughest times.”
Fermin Lopez definitely seems to have left this time of hardship behind him and is now thriving with the club. Xavi has given him significantly greater responsibilities this season, but he has not disappointed and has put in reliable shifts whenever called upon by the Barcelona head coach.
He will be looking to build on this momentum and grow and develop even more to nail down a fixed spot in the first team in the future.
He recently received his first international call-up with the Spain U-21 side, and if he gets minutes and performs well against Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the current international break, he can also get a call-up for the senior Spain side soon.
