Jérémy Mathieu doesn’t shy away from a bold statement.
“I think I was better at free kicks than Lionel Messi,” the French defender said with a grin during a recent interview.
Surely, he was joking. Messi is one of the best free kick takers ever, and on the historical list for most free-kick goals ever scored by anyone.
But the former defender wasn’t exactly bad at them, either. He recalled memories of his own strike against Elche in the 2015 Copa del Rey, a thunderbolt from outside the box that helped
Barça lift their 27th trophy in the competition.
Mathieu gained prominence as a left-back at Valencia, where he linked up well with Jordi Alba. Both ended up at FC Barcelona. For Alba it was a natural fit, he was a youngster with some time in the Barcelona academy and was teammates with many Barça players in the Spanish national team.
For Mathieu it was a bit more complicated. When he made his move he was 30, captain at Valencia, and fully aware he could be trading regular minutes for a bench spot in a star-studded squad. He says he got a call from Luis Enrique before he was given the Barcelona coaching job.
The Asturian told him, “I love how you play. If I’m the coach, I want you on the team,” Mathieu recalled. He kept his skepticism. “I didn’t want to say ‘wait, because for now you’re not Barcelona’s coach.‘ I thought: ‘let’s see if he’s selling a dream.‘”
Luis Enrique did get that job, of course. And Valencia’s refusal to match Barcelona’s offer of an extra 200,000 euros in salary tipped the balance. “If they gave me that, I would have stayed. They said no, and then I left,” he said.
Mathieu’s first season at Barcelona was magical. He was a key piece in the squad that won the treble, notably scoring a goal against Real Madrid in a 2-1 El Clásico win at the Camp Nou.
After three seasons, Barcelona was behind him, and he went to Sporting CP. A knee injury in 2020 ended his professional career, and life changed in unexpected ways. He admitted openly, “I have many problems…,” describing months of depression and isolation. Now 42, he works behind the counter at an Intersport store near Marseille, a routine far from the roar of stadiums.
