Former La Masia ace Alejandro Grimaldo is open to the prospect of returning to Barcelona, insisting it is not a closed chapter in his career.
In an interview with Spanish publication SPORT, Alejandro Grimaldo has opened up about the prospect of returning to Barcelona one day. The former La Masia ace has insisted that he would be open to returning to Camp Nou one day, and that the Barcelona chapter is not closed for him.
Alejandro Grimaldo spent seven of his formative years at Barcelona, having joined the club’s fabled academy La Masia back in 2008. However, the Valencian native could never manage to break into the first-team setup at Camp Nou and called it quits at the Catalan club in 2015 after spending a few years with Barcelona B.
The move to Benfica in 2016 has worked wonders for his career and the 26-year-old has come leaps and bounds over the past half a decade. To date, Grimaldo has amassed a tally of 14 goals and 43 assists in 213 appearances across all competitions, having been a key player for the Portuguese giants all this while.
His progress has helped the Spaniard garner interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including former club Barcelona, on previous occasions. And now, Grimaldo has opened up about the prospect of rejoining the Blaugrana if an opportunity presents itself.
Grimaldo said, “It’s not a closed chapter. Barcelona is my home and I won’t shut the door to my home ever. It’s clear they’re still one of the very best teams and I’d never say no. It’s something I thought, that when I left it was a see you later, not a goodbye. I was there eight years. I’m very happy at Benfica, I feel important here. But it’s clear Barcelona is my home and I have a lot of love for it.”
At the onset of the season, Barcelona seemed to have their left-back unit sorted following the advent of Alejandro Balde. However, with Jordi Alba nearing the final phase of his career, it might be a prudent move to get an experienced left-back in till Balde is ready to become a regular.
To that end, Barcelona have been heavily linked with Jose Gaya among a number of other left-backs, with Grimaldo being linked with them in the summer. What now remains to be seen is if Barcelona decide to go back on their interest in the former La Masia ace or if they choose not to sign a left-back at all.
