Former Barcelona center-back Yerry Mina opened up on the short and difficult stint he had in Catalonia during the second half of the 2017-18 season under then manager Ernesto Valverde.
Speaking to Italian media this week, Mina — who arrived from Brazilian football in January 2018 and made just six appearances before being sold to Everton the very next summer — revealed he chose Barça over Real Madrid, but his experience was difficult thanks in large part to the treatment from Valverde, who according
to Mina did not speak to the player after his first day at the club.
“Real Madrid was also there, but I wanted to go to Barcelona. I arrived and Valverde only spoke to me on the first day. He didn’t speak to me for seven months. Despite winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey, I played very little and suffered a foot injury after a foul by Rakitic in training.
“I wanted to leave Barcelona even though the fans were great to me, but I wanted to play.”
Source: Gazzetta dello Sport via MD
Barça managed to earn a nice little profit despite Mina’s limited appearances thanks to his performances for Colombia in the World Cup, which attracted interest from the Premier League and allowed the Blaugrana to move on from a player who could never show his potential in Catalonia and, at least according to Mina, was not at all appreciated by his coach.
