Gordon: There is no place for fools at Barcelona, and I was surprised by Yamal's mentality
If you are not clever at Barcelona, you are lost
Barcelona star, England's Anthony Gordon, said he was greatly surprised by his Spanish team-mate Lamine Yamal because of his mentality.
Gordon added, during his interview with El País newspaper: "I expected Yamal to be a good and talented player, but I did not expect this mentality. Usually a young player who has all this talent relaxes on the defensive side, but he presses just as much as I do, and he also never misses the gym."
He continued: "What about Rodri? I knew him before because of facing him. He is a monster. When he is on the pitch, and if we lose the ball and the opponent launches an attack, he is always there. And in attack, the play becomes slow with his presence, which gives us the time and space to attack. It is the perfect combination."
He noted: "How has social media changed players' lives? They have started thinking a lot about other people's opinions. A player is praised excessively if he scores a goal or provides a decisive assist, even if he has played a bad match. I prefer to play well and not score. For me, this is real football."
He stressed: "Thinking before scoring? The problem with my style is that, since I press the opponent, people focus a lot on this, and I think the quality of my true level might surprise many when they see me up close. That happened to me at Newcastle. Eddie Howe signed me from Everton so that I would run and press. And then, when I got there, it was like them saying, ah, you are actually a good player."
He added: "I feel that my intelligence as a footballer is the quality of mine that gets the least recognition. And I think this is one of the reasons for my ability to play at Barcelona. Because if you are not intelligent in this team, you are lost. You have to make good decisions all the time, otherwise you will look bad. Intelligence is making the right decision more often than the times you do not. Maybe I should shoot at goal more or be a little less generous, but that is not in my nature. Making the right decision makes me feel satisfied."
He continued: "Flick told me he wanted me to come, and that I fit his style and the things he likes. When you talk to him, you realise he has a good character. He is calm and a good person. He speaks clearly, and I like that. I prefer honesty, even if it is harsh, and on top of that, they had the best team, so I wanted to be part of this project."
He concluded: "There is a lot of talk about Mbappé or Lamine, but do you feel that people in Spain forget Harry Kane? This happens everywhere. In England only the Premier League matters, and in Germany they only talk about Kane because of Bayern Munich. Here they talk about Lamine and Mbappé because they are the best. This is natural, you only see what is in front of you."
