Several players associated with FC Barcelona shone in last night’s match between Spain and Germany, in which Luis de la Fuente’s side came out victorious with a 2-1 scoreline in extra time.
Lamine Yamal was once again at his best as he provided the assist for Dani Olmo’s first goal of the match. However, Pedri suffered an injury right at the start of the match after a tackle from Kroos and was unable to continue playing. He is not expected to feature in the semi-final against France.
But the player who made the most decisive intervention in this match was clearly Mikel Merino, as the midfielder scored his side’s second goal only seconds before the end of the extra time, giving the Germans little time to mount a comeback.
The hero for Spain last night has also been linked with Barcelona in the last few weeks, as the Catalans value his ability to play both as a central and advanced midfielder. The Blaugranes are looking to strengthen their midfield for the next season, and Merino has only one year left on his contract.
In fact, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, Merino’s father appeared in an interview, and talked about his son’s future without giving any clear hints:
“Mikel has already said repeatedly that until the Spanish national team finishes its participation in the Euros, he will not talk about anything else. He will only talk about the Euros and afterwards, he will talk with his agent, his club, and whoever he needs to talk to in order to resolve whatever needs to be resolved.”
“Is it time to talk about Barça now? No, now we need to enjoy this. He is still a Real Sociedad player and he owes it to that club. It’s not appropriate to talk about it now; we need to enjoy this moment with the national team and then we’ll see what happens.”
In his recent comments on the matter, the player himself did not give any clear indications about his desire to play for Barcelona. For now, it looks like he is fully focused on his national side duties, and will make a decision about his club future only once the UEFA EURO 2024 is concluded.