Controversy is something not too foreign to the footballing world, and FC Barcelona are no exception to this concept. From falsely accused scandalous affairs to even corrupt presidents, clubs tend to deal with such situations from time to time. However, in the world of football, there also exist those that spread false rumors specifically meant to target footballers individually and demonize their image.
Such has turned out to be the case of young Pablo Torre, who made a move to FC Barcelona in the 2022 summer transfer window for a fee of around €5 million plus variables from Racing Santander. Since arriving at the Catalan club, the young 20-year-old came in with a massive reputation of quality and unfortunately, has not been able to showcase it.
Since his arrival, Pablo Torre has played a total of 498 minutes across all competitions this season under the FC Barcelona name. The majority of those minutes have come from his time playing with Barca Atletic, 245 minutes to be precise.
The remaining minutes have been divided across three different competitions under the tutelage of Xavi Hernandez. 105 minutes in the Copa Del Ray, 95 minutes in the UEFA Champions League, and 53 minutes in La Liga Santander.
The limited minutes have consequently raised doubts about proceedings behind closed doors, with some media in Spain beginning to report that this refusal to give him minutes is due to “behavioral issues” and “bad habits”, as the player remained unused even when both Pedri and Frenkie De Jong were out injured.
These rumors would end up being anything but factual, as Xavi Hernandez himself would end up denying them publicly: “I have read about Pablo that he has bad habits, all of that is false. He is an example, he works well, and he likes football. He is very loved in the dressing room, he is a very good boy.“
The manager then took it upon himself to explain the real reason being competition. The amount of talent that Barcelona possesses is the primary and only reason as to why Pablo Torre has struggled to get more playing time under Xavi and the first team.
While the reasoning is most probably true, as the manager himself has stated it, it does highlight the fact that the youngster is undeniably getting fewer minutes than would be seen as necessary for the development of such a talent. Consequently, as per numerous reports, FC Barcelona are looking into the possibility of sending the young Spaniard out on loan to get those much-needed minutes against top oppositions.
