Miralem Pjanic was today, presented officially as a Culé. He answered questions from the media at his presentation.
Pjanic was accompanied at the press conference by the Club’s technical secretary Ramon Planes, who will also answer questions about the current situation of the club’s transfers.
Miralem Pjanic’s presentation began with Ramon Planes officially welcoming him to the club by saying: “He is a player that Barça has been following for a long time. He has all the qualities to succeed. It is a dream for him to be in such an important club. He is a quality player, who understands the way we play. He can give us a lot. We are very happy with his arrival. Welcome to Barça, which is your home, I’m sure you will give the club a lot of joy.”
Miralem’s first words: “Thank you to the club, to the president, to Eric, who sent me a big hug. It is a huge pride for me to be here, for my family, and we are very happy. I will fight to take the club where it should be and get trophies. “
Then he proceeded to respond about whether he has a Barça style: “Playing here as a rival was already a great pride. As a child I dreamed of playing for Barça, but being part of this team, of this club, is extraordinary. I am very grateful for how I started and what I have done in my career. Today I am at the biggest club in the world and it is a very important stage in my career. We aspire to win all the trophies and it is a great opportunity for me. I hope to be of great help with my experience and my football. In recent years, Barça has been a reference and today I want to give people pleasure with my football. “
Pjanic on how he left Juventus: “Leaving Juventus was complicated. I have left an incredible club, but a footballer has the stimulus to grow and have new challenges. After nine years in Italy I needed new goals and Barça was my dream”.
Pjanic also had a few words with regards to how he experienced the defeat against Bayern: “Of course I saw the game. They are games that happen, there are very painful defeats. They are nights that everything goes the other way around and I had the impression that everything was the opposite. The situation of the COVID is not an excuse. It was a major blow, difficult to accept, but the whole group wants to turn the page. We have to think of ourselves and be united, make a strong and healthy group. Only then can we repeat the successes of the past. “
Pjanic on his goal against Madrid at Lyon: “Of course I remember, obviously. It was an important goal against a big club, it was a great pleasure. I was very young. Madrid are very tough opponents and we will have an important fight with them this season, but the important thing is to focus on us. “
Pjanic on whether he would have liked to arrive at Barça earlier: “Things like this happen in the market, I was able to arrive earlier, but I arrived later. I have played in great teams and I always have respect for the clubs I have passed through. My career has been important and today is the best of the best days. “
Pjanic was asked if he had had conversations with the coach, Ronald Koeman, and he responded saying: “I have spoken with him two or three times, to know a little how everything was going. We have to wait until I join the group and then we will see how he wants to play and how he wants to use me. The season is long and we will all have opportunities. I can play in all positions in the middle and I will give my best. “
Pjanic on what was the first memory of Barça and if Luis Enrique and Bojan Krkic told him about the club during their time together in Rome, he answered saying: “Playing for Barça is a child’s dream. Barça football was fun and they put a supremacy on it, everyone wanted to play like them. That is my great memory. The important thing is to keep winning. With Luis Enrique it was a very important stage, I saw his ideas and they were very similar to the Barça game. “
Pjanic was also asked about how the COVID situation has happened and how he responded to it, he said: “It was an unexpected thing; it could not be foreseen. I took it and it was perfectly fine. I have trained at home and was in contact with the physical trainers. I would have preferred to be here, but I had to respect the rules. I have worked hard these days and I hope to be ready for the start of the season. On Saturday I will surely play a part of the game. I try to learn the language so that I can communicate easily with my teammates. “
Asked about what it means to him to be playing alongside Lionel Messi now, Pjanic said: “Messi I have known him for just two days. I have had the fortune to play with Totti, Buffon, Cristiano. For me it has been a pride to have them by my side. I always try to pay attention to the better and it will be a pleasure to share a team with an alien. But we must remember that the whole team will be important. I believe a lot in the group to meet the objectives. “
Pjanic about Messi and if he has spoken with Suárez and his possible departure to Juventus: “I can’t imagine Messi with another shirt, I always thought everything was going to end well. My will was to be able to play with him and I had no doubts.” About Suárez “I don’t know. He is a great scorer, but his future and what he wants I don’t know. If he stays, he will be fine and if he goes to Juventus he will surely be very well received. I hope I can play with him.”
Pjanic on whether he sees the squad capable of winning the Champions League: “I think playing for this club is a challenge, a motivation. It is the maximum you can achieve in your career. The most important thing is to win titles, play well and make people happy, especially our fans. Barça is more than a club and I see the team capable of meeting all the goals we have set. We can win all the titles. We have great players and we can do great things. “
Pjanic on how he hopes his adaptation to Barça : “I want to meet my teammates, their football, and for them to know me. The Busquets-Iniesta-Xavi midfield was something incredible, but the players who are here now are also very great. I don’t put a limit to know how they play, what the game idea is like. I will try to adapt as quickly as possible. Learning the language will help me a lot. “
At the Press Conference, Technical Director, Ramon Planes was asked about Barça’s activities on the market.
Technical director Ramon Planes was asked whether they rule out that Suárez will end up staying, to this he responded: “Luis is an important player for Barcelona, he has been in recent years. We have to have a lot of respect for those players who have given so much to Barcelona. After what happened to him at the end of the season, we are in a process of change and we are working on that. The market ends on October 5 and until then many things can happen. “
Ramon Planes on whether he contemplates the arrival of an attacker: “The technical secretariat has been working for months to improve the squad. Not everyone can play for Barça. The search for a striker is something that is public and comes from afar, but it has become more pronounced recently. Barça always has to aspire to have the best. “
Ramon Planes was asked whether Arturo Vidal’s departure is imminent, he said: “It is true that progress is being made in the negotiation for his possible departure. I want to thank Arturo for these two years that he has given us. He has been an important player, with that energy that it transmits. It is not closed yet and I cannot confirm the agreement. It is obvious that we are facing a market in which there is little movement and we have to be calm and think about the objectives we want. We have to be patient, each case we have to evaluate”.
On that note, Miralem Pjanic’s presentation press conference came to a conclusion.
