If Barça’s image in the world of football has been affected by everything that happened with Dani Olmo, that of basketball is not far behind with Thomas Heurtel as the protagonist. The skits happen in the Barça club and the one that has been staged in the Palau in the last few hours is one of those that will be remembered eternally.
Barça’s relationship with Heurtel is going from bad to worse. In 2020, the club prevented him from getting on the plane in Istanbul after learning that he had negotiated with Real Madrid behind their backs. In 2025, he agreed to sign him, made him travel from China but, given the possible reaction against the fans – no surprise here -, he became unhappy and left him hanging. “I think this is worse than what happened in Istanbul because now my family is involved,” the Frenchman lamented yesterday, sadly. And after the verbal commitment reached, Heurtel, who lived in Shenzen (China), had taken a 15-hour plane with his family after taking his children from school, leaving his apartment and taking all his belongings to settle in Barcelona. .
Heurtel traveled with his family from China and was shocked when he landed and heard the Barça “no”
The film begins at the beginning of the week, when Barça contacts the player’s agents to show their interest. Being without a team, his physical condition raises some doubts in the noble zone. Doubt that is immediately dispelled. Heurtel trained in top-level facilities daily and sent videos to the sports management to show that he was in perfect condition.
Always verbally, Barça approves the signing and the travel preparations, the medical check-up and so on begin. Heurtel receives a message from Juan Carlos Navarro, manager of the section, welcoming him and has a conversation of about 20 minutes with the coach, Joan Peñarroya. “He told me that he was very happy with my signing, that I should travel as soon as possible and we talked about how I was going to get into the team,” the man from Beziers confessed bitterly.
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The contract is not signed because at a technical level Neto’s termination must first be formalized, but the player is urged to travel to Barcelona to accelerate steps. In fact, I had a medical check-up scheduled upon arrival. The ticket and the first four nights in the hotel are even paid by Barça, according to the player’s entourage, who also accuses the club of having leaked the news.
Heurtel’s possible return to Barça generates a lot of noise in the Barça environment, as expected. Although the player assures that “I expected the bomb to be bigger, there are people who have supported me. But I knew the beginning would be hard.” But while the Frenchman is quickly lowering the curtain and running towards his life in China, in the noble area of the Palau they begin to fear the reaction of the public and, aware of the delicate institutional situation, they begin to back down. “Josep Cubells promised us that there would be no change of mind, that he would stand up for Laporta,” denounces Heurtel’s entourage, who saves the sports management from burning – “they work overtime and are an example, they have all our respect” , he says – and points directly to the president of Barça basketball as responsible for everything. “The coach and the sports director do not agree with this decision,” he emphasizes.
Hurt, and wanting to return to his home in France to reflect on a possible retirement after what happened, Heurtel was grateful for the call from Peñarroya after landing in Barcelona and finding himself with the abrupt change of direction of the situation. A real human detail from the coach in a few nightmarish hours for the Frenchman.
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