Barcelona (AFP)
Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Thursday described joining Barcelona as a “chance of a lifetime”, stressing that the Blaugrana will restore his place among the top European continent.
Aubameyang, 32, was officially presented at the Camp Nou stadium on Wednesday after he signed with the Catalan club on a free deal after Arsenal terminated his contract with the player.
Aubameyang signed a contract until June 2025 with the option to agree to his departure on June 30, 2023, with a penalty clause of 100 million euros.
During his first press conference, the striker said: “I have always dreamed of playing in La Liga, it is an amazing opportunity for me, it has been a dream since I was young, it is the opportunity of a lifetime, Barcelona is one of the best clubs in the world and I am very happy to be here.”
The Catalan club will hope that the Gabonese will contribute to solving its scoring problems this season and contribute to the team’s effort to finish the league in the first four places and qualify for the Champions League next season, after being eliminated from the group stage for the first time since 2000-2001.
Barcelona suffers from debts of more than one billion euros and is still recovering from the sudden departure of Argentine star Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain.
The team is ranked fifth in the league, 15 points from rivals Real Madrid, the leaders.
He said, “Oba,” during his introduction: “I know we will return to the top, little by little.”
The striker may play his first match at the Camp Nou in the upcoming saga against Atletico Madrid on Sunday in the league, knowing that the Spanish champions Barcelona and coach Xavi Hernandez lead by an orphan point in fourth place.
However, the player suffers from a lack of form, as he played his last match with Arsenal on the sixth of last December. He was also part of the Gabon squad in the African Nations Cup currently being held in Cameroon, but he missed the first two matches due to being infected with the Corona virus, before he was completely excluded after the team’s medical staff reported that the player was suffering from “heart problems.”
He said in this regard: “I haven’t played for a long time, but in my mind I’m ready to play and contribute. I spoke a little with the coach and he sees me in No. 9 (spearhead), but if he needs me to play as a winger, I’m ready to do that too.”
Aubameyang scored 92 goals in 165 games with Arsenal since joining him in the winter of 2018, but he was recently excluded from the team due to a strained relationship with Spanish coach Mikel Arteia for disciplinary reasons.
The player, who had a contract with the London club until 2023, said: “I don’t think I did something wrong, I think the problem was with him. He was not happy. I was calm on a personal level.”
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