Barça’s latest signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sat down for an interview after scoring his first goals for the club and talked about the players, his targets with the club among other things.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has already made headlines after a stellar performance in his first start in the Spanish top flight after scoring a hat-trick against Valencia. The striker expressed his thoughts in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. This is what he had to say :
On his feelings after scoring against Valencia :
“I am very happy to have made this match. I feel very good.”
On getting the opportunity to play for Barça :
“I think it’s a great club and I really wanted to come here. I gave up my salary because it is an opportunity that you get once in a lifetime and here I am. I hope to win LaLiga and the Champions League with the club.”
On scoring hat-tricks in four different leagues :
“I saw the data last night and it is something incredible, really.”
On his celebration :
“I remember that I started doing it a long time ago at home watching videos. If I’m telling the truth, I learned it from a player who played for the other team.”
On the reception by the fans on his debut :
“It was something incredible. It is a dream to play on a field like this and receive this ovation. I was very pleased and happy. The truth is that it was incredible.”
On his first contact with Barça :
“I do not remember. My father did it all with my lawyer and they can talk about it best. But the week before I already knew that I could end up signing for Barça. The week before there were already contacts and I knew it. Things were very close in the 2020 winter market but it could not be done.”
On whether Dembélé talked to him about signing for Barça :
“The truth is that he sent me a message to find out if I was going to come and I didn’t want to bother him because he was also in his situation but we kept talking a little bit. “
On talking to other players about Barça :
“I talked with Bellerin at Arsenal and also with Marc Bartra when we were at Borussia Dortmund. He told me that it was a very big club, which is what I already thought. I also spoke with Thierry Henry.”
On rewarding Pedri for giving him his hat-trick goal :
“I already apologized to him (laughs). I didn’t ask for the hat-trick but in the end, the referee gave it to me. When I touched the ball I didn’t say anything. It was a great goal and I didn’t want to say anything to claim it.”
On his role as asked by the manager :
“Against Valencia, I did what the manager asked me. They had a very aggressive defense and we found space in the back that we could use to exploit my quality. We tried to make a run whenever we could.”
On Barça’s playing style :
“Some of the things we did at Arsenal with Arteta are similar. I still have to get used to it but I am eager to learn. When I see how the boys play I want to do the same.”
On his promise to Barça fans :
“We are going to give everything and, personally, I am going to continue working as I have done since I arrived. I want to win games and I want to win this Europa League, so if we want to win it, we have to win this game. We have to continue as we are doing. We’ve been playing well for several games, so it’s time to continue the same.”
On his bitter memories of the Europa League final :
“I still have bad memories from that game, but I have another chance this time and hopefully, we will win it this year.”
On his advice to the youngsters :
“I can only tell them that if they continue like this, they will really enjoy it with the mentality of wanting to win and giving your all.”
On playing and scoring against Madrid :
“I have very good memories, scoring goals there is always good. I hope I can score many more.”
On playing with Ousmane Dembélé again :
“It’s something very special because we had an incredible year together at Borussia Dortmund. Ousmane is one of the best on the ball and as a striker he is incredible. To tell the truth, I am very happy that he is here and when I arrived I told him that he has to stay.”
On the players that have surprised him in training :
“I would say the young players. Pedri, Gavi and Nico too. They are very good, they play good football, and seeing them in person is better than seeing them on TV.”
On Ferran Torres :
“He is a boy who has a lot of quality. I have seen him play many times for City. It’s easy to play when you have good players like Ferran.”
On his contacts at Dortmund and their opinions of Haaland :
“I still have friends there and they tell me that he is a player who wants to win, who wants to compete a lot. I think he’s a top player, he scores many goals for his age, it’s incredible. He is one of the best. I am a very positive guy, I like competition and it is even better for a club like Barça. Barça needs the best in the world, so if he arrives, it would be good for the club.”
