Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reveals reasons for joining Barcelona

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed his reasons behind joining Barcelona, suggesting he did everything to join the Blaugrana in the winter.

In an interview with Spanish publication SPORT, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened up about joining Barcelona and how desperate he was to move to Camp Nou. The former Arsenal captain suggested that he did everything to sign for the Blaugrana and that he could not say no once the Catalan giants came calling.

The January transfer window was a period of heavy uncertainty for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese forward’s Arsenal career had collapsed completely after falling out with manager Mikel Arteta. After being banished from the first-team setup, the 32-year-old would have been eager to seal a move away from the Emirates, and Barcelona offered him such an opportunity.

But the deal was stretched till the dying embers of Deadline Day of the January transfer window before Aubameyang finally signed on the dotted line. And Barcelona only announced Aubameyang’s transfer two days into February. Since then, he has established a foothold in the first-team setup at Camp Nou.

Aubameyang has scored three goals in four games for Barcelona, scoring a hat-trick in his first La Liga start for the club. Now, the 32-year-old has opened up about the moments leading up to his move to Barcelona, claiming he did everything to move to the Catalan outfit in the January transfer window.

“Until the last second we were waiting for the loan from Arsenal to arrive, it came two minutes before the end of the game,” revealed Aubameyang. “My heart was going very fast, I wasn’t sweating, but almost. I called my father, who was in Sitges, and told him that I was going to Barcelona because I wanted to sign for Barcelona. I slept a little, then they told me to do a medical check-up.”

“Barcelona is a great club and I really wanted to come as it’s a chance that you have just once in life; soon Barcelona will be back where they belong. I did everything I could. I went all in. Barça are Barça and you can’t say no. I have scored goals for many years now and I will try to continue that at Barcelona. I want to score to help the team to victory which is always the most important thing.”

As mentioned earlier, Aubameyang has hit the ground running at Barcelona, scoring a match-winning hat-trick against Valencia this past weekend. The Gabonese international will now be eager to guide Barcelona deep into the UEFA Europa League while clinching a top-four spot in La Liga.